THE SCHOOL COURSE IN ENGLISH 
ALLEN AND HAWKINS 

BOOK I. 

A PRACTICAL 
LANGUAGE BOOK 



f ? 



D. C . HEATH 8c CO. 

BOSTON NEWYORK CHICAGO 




Class__P_CJLll_ 

Book ^\A:lSl_ 

CoEyiightN"__J4^_3- 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




IN VACATION 



S:i}e Sc}}ool (Course in lEitgltst) 
Book I 



A PRACTICAL 

LANGUAGE BOOK 



BY 

/ 

EDWARD A. ALLEN 

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH lANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI 

AND 

WILLIAM J. HAWKINS 

PRINCIPAL OF COLUMBIA SCHOOL, ST. LOUIS 






3>a4c 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1903 



if 



V^'^.'i 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

APR 18 1903 

Copynglit Entry ' 

CLASS «> j(Xc. No 
COPY B, 



Copyright, 1903 
By D. C. Heath & COo 



PREFACE 

This book is an attempt to present a plan of language 
work that brings into use the literature study, observations, 
and experiences of pupils. 

The work begins with selections from literature that in 
subject matter and form of expression appeal to children. 
They are adapted to the season of the opening of schools, 
and afford an easy correlation of literature, nature study, 
and language. In observation lessons the thought and 
feeling find expression in the literature studies, — the lan- 
guage grows out of the literature. This feature is main- 
tained throughout the work. In the formal language the 
type sentences are taken from literature previously studied, 
and have an intelligent use and meaning in the expression 
of thought. 

The plan contemplates three years' work, and pupils 
who leave school at its completion will have a knowledge 
of the principles that govern the construction of sentences 
and their arrangement in well-written composition. 

The treatment is inductive. Special stress is put on 
oral reproductions and discussions, followed in most cases 
by written compositions. 

Letter writing is presented early in the work and is 
continued to the close. Models of generally accepted 
forms are presented, and material is suggested to give 
practice in their use. 

In definitions, simpHcity and intelligibility to the child 
have been the aim. There is a frequent recurrence of 



IV 



Preface 



essentials, but with a constantly widening meaning and 
use. The plan aims to be suggestive rather than directive, 
and in the selection and use of materials it is hoped that 
much freedom will be exercised by teachers. 

It is in the belief that language is best learned by asso- 
ciating it in its use with the best forms of expression in 
the best literature, that this book has been written. 

The author is deeply indebted for valuable suggestions 
and criticisms to Miss Emma Serl, Humboldt School, Kan- 
sas City, Mr. W. W. Walters, Principal of the EHot School, 
St. Louis, and Miss Kate L. Cunningham, Columbia School, 
St. Louis. 

Thanks are due to publishers for use of valuable copy- 
right matter. To A. Flanagan for extracts from '* Nature 
Myths"; to Ginn & Co. for extracts from ''All the Year 
Around"; to Rand, McNally & Co. for use of selections 
from "Classic Myths"; to G. P. Putnam's Sons for ex- 
tract from Irving ; and to D. Appleton & Co. for selections 
from Bryant. 

Selections from Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Sherman, 
and Alice Cary are used by permission of, and special 
arrangement with, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. ; the poem 
from Helen Hunt Jackson by arrangement with Little, 
Brown & Co., and the poem by Eugene Field by permis- 
sion of Frank Leslie's. 

January, 1903. 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

SECTION PAGE 

1. Poem Study, " September " i 

2. Prose Study, " The Goldenrod and the Aster " . - . . . 2 

3. Memory Selection, " Goldenrod ".....,. 4 

4. Sentences ........... 5 

5. Statements 6 

6. A Thought Study, Poem, " Questions " 6 

7. Questions 8 

8. Picture Lesson, " Composition Day " 8 

9. Oral Lesson, Games 10 

10. Composition, First Day at School . . . . . . .10 

11. Commands ........... 10 

12. Exclamations . . . . . . . . . . .11 

13. Dictation Exercise . . . . . . . . . .11 

14. Prose Study, "Androclus and the Lion " ..... 12 

15. Oral Exercise 14 

16. Capital Letters 14 

17. Surnames and Given Names 15 

i8. Initials 16 

19. Prose Study, " The Unhappy Pine Tree " 17 

20. Oral Lesson, " Preparation for Winter " ...... 19 

21. Composition . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ' 

22. The Days of the Week 20 

23. Memory Exercise, " The Noble Nature " 21 

24. Prose Study, " The Ant and the Grasshopper " .... 21 

25. Names of the Months ......... 22 

26. The Seasons 23 

27. Prose Study, " Iris, the Rainbow Princess " 24 

28. Picture Lesson, " Shoeing the Horse " 25 

29. Poem Study, " The Village Blacksmith " 26 

30. Titles . 29 ' 

31. The Paragraph, " The Lion and the Fox " 30 

32. Written Exercise . 31 

33. Memory Selection, "November" ....... 31 

V 
V 



VI 



Contents 



SECTION PAGE 

34. Quotations ........... 32 

35. Dictation, " Winter and Spring " ... - • • 33 

36. Dates .34 

37. Letter Writing 34 

38. Envelopes . . . -37 

39. Exercise in Letter Writing ........ 38 

40. Prose Study, " How the Horses of the Sun-god ran away " . • 38 

41. Composition ........... 43 

42. Summary of Uses of Capital Letters 43 

43. Capital Letters (continued) ........ 44 

44. Picture Lesson, " Friends or Foes " 44 

45. Composition 44 

46. One and More than One ......... 44 

47. Use of is and are .......... 46 

48. Memory Selection, " The Ferns " . 47 

49. Use of was and were ......... 48 

50. Dictation, " Summer Changes " '. 49 

51. Composition 49 

52. Uses of is and are, was and were ....... 50 

53. Prose Study, " Proserpina " . . . . . '. . 'SO 

54. Oral Lesson 53 

55. Composition ........... 54 

56. Vi%^ oi has zxv^ have 54 

57. Poem Study, " The Tree " -55 

58. Contractions 56 

59. Summary of Rules 57 

60. Memory Selection, " June " . . . . . . . .58 



PART II 



61. Prose Study " Clytie " 

62. Composition, The Sunflower . 

63. Memory Selection, "The Arrow an 

64. Poem Study "The Four Winds" 

65. Industry Study, " Wheat " 

66. Composition, Wheat 

67. Prose Study, " A Story about Glass 

68. Composition, Glass . 

69. Review of Capital Letters 

70. Additional Uses of Capital Letters 

71. Letter Writing 

72. Business Letters 

73. Invitations .... 



d the 


Song 











61 

62 
62 

63 
64 
64 
65 

66 
66 
66 
67 
68 
69 



Contents vii 



SECTION PAGE 

74. Prose Study, " How West became an Artist " .... 69 

75. Uses of Sentences 72 

76. Dictation, " The Mouse and the Lion " 72 

77. Poem Study, " The Frost " 74 

78. Picture Lesson, " A Winter Scene " 74 

79. Parts of the Sentence .76 

80. Parts of the Sentence - 77 

81. Uses of Parts of the Sentence -77 

82. Transposed Order of Parts of the Sentence 78 

83. Prose Study, " The Wonderful Weaver " ..... 79 

84. Industry Study, " Coal " ........ 82 

85. Composition, Coal .......... 82 

86. Picture Lesson, " End of Labor " . . . . . . .82 

87. Nouns, Common and Proper 82 

88. Study of Common Nouns ........ 84 

89. Study of Proper Nouns 85 

90. Uses of Nouns 85 

91. Classification of Nouns ......... 85 

92. Poem Study, "The Piper's Song" 86 

93. Letter Writing . . -87 

94. Memory Selection, "Child and Flower" 88 

95. Nouns, Singular and Plural 89 

96. P'ormation of Plurals ......... 89 

97. Plural Nouns 89 

98. Picture Lesson, " The Silkworm " .90 

99. Composition, Silkworm 90 

100. Poem Study, " Silkworm " . 92 

loi. Possessives ........... 93 

102. Prose Study, " How Thor came by his Hammer " . . . -94 

103. Pronouns 97 

104. Verbs defined 98 

105. Verbs used to assert . . . . . . . . .98 

106. Verbs used in Sentences ........ 99 

107. Poem Study, " Birds' Nests " 99 

108. Oral Lesson, " Birds' Nests " loi 

109. Prose Study, " Ulysses at the King's Palace " .... loi 
no. Adjectives and Adverbs 104 

111. Written Exercise 105 

112. Written Exercise .......... 105 

113. Articles and W^ords that point out 105 

114. Prose Study, " Tragedies of the Nests " 106 

115. Connectives 108 

116. Connectives ........... 109 

117. Interjections 109 



VIU 



Contents 



SECTION PAGE 

Ii8. Summary of Rules .no 

119. Memory Selection, " The Wanderer " ill 

120. Poem Study, " Summer Changes " . . . . , .112 



PART III 

121. Poem Study, " Daybreak " . 114 

122. Oral Lesson, Evening Sunset . . . . . , =115 

123. Composition, Evening Sunset . , . . . . • 115 

124. Poem Study, " Abou Ben Adhem " . . . , . .116 

125. Kinds of Sentences 116 

126. Parts of the Sentence 117 

127. Compound Subjects and Compound Predicates . . . • 117 

128. Picture Lesson, "The Shepherdess " 118 

129. Composition, Wool , . . . . . . . .120 

130. Prose Study, " The North Wind and the Snow Princess " . .120 

131. Phrases 122 

132. Poem Study, " We are Seven " 123 

133. Dictation Exercise . . . . . . . . . -125 

134. Letter Writing 126 

135. Prose Study, " Washington" 126 

136. Composition, Washington . . . . . . . .128 

137. Review of Capital Letters . 128 

138. Clauses 129 

139. Adjective Clauses .......... 130 

140. Adverbial Clauses 131 

141. Poem Study, "To a Waterfowl" ....... 132 

142. Adjectives and Adverbs -133 

143. Prose Study, " Ali Baba " 134 

■144. Structure of Sentences . ... . . . . , -134 

145. Composition . . . . . . . . . . .137 

146. Memory Selection, "The Way to Heaven " 138 

147. Name of Person addressed 139 

148. Classification of Sentences and Phrases . . . . . .139 

149. Prose Study, " Rip Van Winkle " 140 

150. Composition, Rip Van Winkle ....... 142 

151. Poem Study, " The Poet's Calendar " . . . . . . 143 

152. Composition, Month of May 147 

153. Adjectives, — Words, Phrases, Clauses 147 

154. Adverbs, — Words, Phrases, Clauses 148 

155. Letter Writing ' . . . 148 

156. Industry Study, " Cotton " ........ 148 

157. Composition, Cotton = . . . 149 



Contents ix 



SECTION PAGE 

158. Prose Study, " Franklin's Boyhood " . . . . . . 149 

159. Quotations from " Poor Richard's Almanac " .... 150 

160. Relative Pronouns 151 

161. Use of the Comma 152 

162. Dictation Exercise 153 

163. Poem Study, "Daffodils" . 153 

164. Review Exercises . .154 

165. Composition, Favorite Flowers . . . . . . ,154 

166. Indirect Quotations 155 

167. Transposed Expressions. 155 

168. Poem Study, "The Planting of the Apple Tree " .... 156 

169. Summary of Rules -158 

170. Poem Study, "A Day in June" ....... i6c 



A PRACTICAL LANGUAGE BOOK 

PART ONE 

SECTION 1 
POEM STUDY 

SEPTEMBER 

The golden rod is yellow ; 

The corn is turning brown ; 
The trees in apple orchards 

With fruit are bending down. 

The gentian's bluest fringes 

Are curling in the sun ; 
In dusky pods the milkweed 

Its hidden silk has spun. 

The sedges flaunt their harvest 

In every meadow nook ; 
And asters by the brookside 

Make asters in the brook. 

From dewy lanes at morning 
The grapes' sweet odors rise ; 

At noon the roads all flutter 
With golden butterflies. 



A Practical Language Book 

By all these lovely tokens 

September days are here, 
With summer's best of weather, 

And autumn's best of cheer. 

— Helen Hunt Jackson. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Make a list of the flowers mentioned in this poem. 

Which of these flowers have you seen? 

Where did they grow? 

Explain '^ turning brown " and " bending down." 

Name some other plants that turn brown when the seed 

is ripe. 
Explain the meaning of " dusky pods." 
Name other seeds that have pods. 
Of what use to the seed is the silk? 
What is meant by " Make asters in the brook " ? 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write the names of five flowers that you know. 



SECTION 2 
PROSE STUDY 

THE GOLDENROD AND THE ASTER 

Golden Hair and Blue Eyes lived at the foot of a great 
hill. 

On the top of this hill, in a little hut, lived a strange, 
wise, Httle old woman. 

It was said that she could change people into anything 
she wished. 



The Goldenrod and the Aster 3 

She was very old and very cross, so that most people 
were afraid to go near her. 

One summer day, these two little girls down at the foot 
of the hill thought they would like to do something to 
make everybody happy. At last, one of them said, "Let 
us go and ask the little old lady who lives on the hill. 
She is very wise, and can surely tell us just what to do." 

Now, it was a warm day, and a very long walk up to 
the top of the hill. But the brave little girls did not give 
up, though they often had to sit down and rest. They 
watched the fish in the brook, and the squirrels, and the 
birds. They wished that there were flowers to pick on 
the bare sides of the hill. After a while, it grew very 
dark; but then the kind moon came out to show them the 
way. At last, they reached the top of the hill, and there 
at the gate stood the little old lady, looking more cross 
than ever. 

The little girls were very much frightened, and stayed 
close together. Finally, one of them said, *' Please, we 
thought you could tell us something to do to make every 
one happy. But we want always to stay together, and we 
are very tired." Then the people say this cross old lady 
was seen to smile in the moonlight, as she opened the gate 
for the children. 

The two little girls were never seen again at the foot of 
the hill. But the next morning, all over the hillside, the 
people saw growing beautiful waving goldenrod and purple 
asters. And I have heard it said that those two bright 
flowers, which always grow together, could tell the secret, 
if they would, of what became of the two little girls on 
that moonlight summer night. 

— From Cook's " Nature Myths." 
By permission of A. Flanagen & Co., Publishers. 



4 A Practical Language Book 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Who were the two little girls ? Why did they visit the old 
woman ? Why were they afraid of her ? 

Describe the journey to the old woman's house. 

What two things did they ask of her? 

In what way were both requests granted? 

Which girl became the goldenrod and which the aster? Why? 

Do these flowers add to our happiness? If so, how? 

Tell some ways in which every one may add to the happiness 
of others. 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write the story of the little girls' visit to the home of the old 
woman. 

SECTION 3 
MEMORY SELECTION 

GOLDENROD 

Tell me, sunny goldenrod, 

Growing everywhere. 
Did fairies come from fairyland 

And make the dress you wear? 

Did you get from mines of gold 

Your bright and shining hue? 
Or did the baby stars some night 

Fall down and cover you? 

Or did the angels wave their wings 

And drop their glitter down 
Upon you, laughing goldenrod, 

Your nodding head to crown? 



Sentences 5 

Or are you clad in sunshine I 

Caught from summer's brightest day, i 

To give again in happy smiles ', 

To all who pass your way? i 

I love you, laughing goldenrod, | 

And I will try, like you. 

To fill each day with deeds of cheer ; ; 

Be loving, kind, and true. \ 

— Mrs. F. S. Lovejoy. ; 

To what things is the dress of the goldenrod compared ? 

What lesson does the life of the goldenrod teach ? ; 

i 

SECTION 4 \ 

SENTENCES I 

1. September days are here. i 

2. See the yellow goldenrod ! 1 

3. Did the people see the girls again } \ 

4. The flowers could not tell the secret. 

5. Tell me their story. \ 

Which of the above groups of words tell something? 

Which group asks something? \ 

Which group expresses surprise? | 

What does the last group do ? | 

A group of words used to tell or to ask something is a Sentence. 

Each of the above groups is a sentence. 
Every sentence should begin with a capital letter. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE . 

I. Write five sentences that tell something you read in the 



"September" poem. 

2 Write five sentences about " Golden Hair and Blue Eyes." 



6 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 5 
STATEMENTS 

1. The day was warm. 

2. The walk was long. 

3. The girls sat down. 

4. They watched the fish. 

5. They wished for flowers. 

Each of these sentences tells something. 

A sentence that tells something is called a Statement. 

Each of the above sentences is a statement. 

A period (.) should be placed at the close of every statement. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write five statements about what you did yesterday. 

2. Write five statements about animals that you have seen. 

Note. — To avoid meaningless work in sentence making, each 
sentence should contain at least five words. 

SECTION 6 

A THOUGHT STUDY 

QUESTIONS 

Can you put the spider's web back in place 

That once has been swept away? 
Can you put the apple again on the bough 

Which fell at your feet to-day? 

Can you put the lily cup back on the stem, 

And cause it again to grow? 
Can you mend the butterfly's broken wing 

That you crushed with a hasty blow? 



Questions 7 

Can you put the bloom again on the grape, 

And the grape again on the vine? 
Can you put the dewdrops back on the flowers, 

And make them sparkle and shine? 

Can you put the petals back on the rose? 

If you could, would it smell as sweet? 
Can you put the flour in the husk 

And show me the ripened wheat? 

Can you put the kernel back in the nut, 

Or the broken egg in the shell? 
Can you put the honey back in the comb. 

And cover with wax each cell? 

♦ Can you put the perfume back in the vase 
When once it has sped away? 
Can you put the silk back on the corn. 
Or the down on the catkins gay? 

You think that my questions are trifling, dear, — 

Let me ask you another one : 
Can a hasty word be ever unsaid 

Or an unkind deed undone? 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Discuss all the things suggested in the poem that we cannot do. 

Would any one of them be more difflcult to try to do than 
another? Why? 

What is meant by "■ the lily cup back on the stem " ? 

Can we undo the acts referred to in the last stanza? Can we 
make amends for them? If so, how? 

What lessons may we learn from this poem? 

Commit the poem to memory. 



8 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 7 

QUESTIONS 

Read the first sentence in the previous selection. 

Does it tell something? 

What does it do? 

How many sentences in this selection ask something? 

A sentence that asks something is a Question. 

Every sentence that asks a question ends with a question 
mark (?). 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy five questions from the selection "Questions," Sec- 
tion 6. 

2. Write five questions about the goldenrod and the aster. 

3. Write five questions about fruits. 

SECTION 8 
PICTURE LESSON 

COMPOSITION DAY 

ORAL STUDY OF THE PICTURE 

1. How many boys do you see in this picture? 

2. How old do you think these boys are? 

3. Have they ever been at school? 

4. Why is the larger boy looking over the shoulder of the 
smaller boy? 

5. Do they like to write compositions? Why? 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write a story suggested by the .picture. 



lo A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 9 
ORAL LESSON 

1. Think about the games you know. 

2. Name three or four of them. 

3. Which one do you hke best? 

4. Tell just how one of them is played, so that any one who 
does not know the game may learn it from you. 

SECTION 10 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write a story of your experiences in school the first day of tliis 
term. 

1. Tell of your arrival at the school. 

2. Describe the opening exercises. 

3. Name the classes to which you were assigned. 

4. What study do you like best? Why? 

SECTION 11 
COMMANDS 

1. Gather the corn. 

2. Bring the apples from the orchard. 

3. Please give me one. 

In these sentences who do you think is told to do something? 

How does the last sentence differ from tiie other two? 

How do they differ from the sentences you studied in Sections 
5 and 7 ? 

Sentences that tell us to do something are Commands. 
A period should be placed at the close of every command. 



Dictation Exercises 1 1 



WRITTEN EXERCISE 



1. Write three commands that you might use in speaking to a 
person ; as, Bring me that large book. 

2. Write two requests that you might make of your mother. 

3. Copy five commands fi-om your reader. 



SECTION 12 
EXCLAMATIONS 

1. See the beautiful butterfly ! 

2. How beautiful the asters are ! 

These sentences differ from the three kinds you have studied. 
They express sudden feeling, or surprise. 

A sentence that expresses strong feeling is called an Exclamation. 

Every exclamation should be followed by an exclamation 
point (!). 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy five exclamations from your reader. 

2. Write five exclamations. 



SECTION 13 

DICTATION EXERCISE 

The two litde girls were never seen again. Next morning the 
people said, " See the flowers ! How beautiful they are ! Do not 
trample on them." What became of the two Httle girls ? Who 
could tell ? 



12 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 14 
PROSE STUDY 

ANDROCLUS AND THE LION 



That is a queer story that is told of two friends who 
once Uved in old Rome. In those days the Romans were 
the most famous soldiers in the world. They carried on 
many wars and made many captives. 

Those old Romans had a custom which would be 
thought very cruel in our times, — they sold their captives 
as slaves. 

As the story goes, a soldier named Androclus was 
taken captive in Africa, and brought to Rome and sold. 
His master abused him, and at last he ran away. 

One day while Androclus was hiding in the forest, he 
came upon a lion. At first he turned to run away, but as 
the lion did not follow him he turned back. 

As he came near, the hon held out a paw and seemed to 
be in great pain. At last Androclus went up, and found 
that the beast had a great thorn in his foot. He pulled 
out the thorn and bound up the sore foot. 

His foot was soon well, but the lion did not forget the 
man who had helped him. He led Androclus to the cave, 
and every day brought him a part of some animal that he 
had killed. 

And thus they lived together in the cave. The lion was 
as kind and gentle with Androclus as any dog. But by 
and by they were both captured by soldiers and taken to 
Rome. Androclus was thrown into prison. 



Androclus and the Lion 13 



II 

Not long afterward there was to be a hoHday in 
Rome. The games and races in the arena were to be 
followed by a fight between a man and a lion. The 
emperor and thousands of people would come to see 
the sport. 

When the races and games were ended, then came what 
the Romans thought the best sport of all. A prisoner 
was brought into the middle of the arena and left there. 
The prisoner was Androclus, and he was to fight with a 
hungry lion. 

Very soon the door of a cage was thrown open, and a 
lion bounded into the arena. For days he had eaten noth- 
ing. Hunger had made him fierce ; he bounded toward 
Androclus. 

And then a strange thing happened. When the lion 
was quite near to Androclus, he did not spring upon 
him as was expected. Instead, he began to show signs 
of joy. He even came up and licked his hands like a 
friendly dog. 

The emperor was greatly surprised at this, and so were 
all the people. Surely this was something new in the 
arena ! They called upon Androclus to tell them how it 
happened that he and the lion came to be such good 
friends. 

Then Androclus told the whole story. He told how he 
had met the Hon in the forest, and how they had lived for 
some time in the same cave. 

The emperor was pleased, and then and there he par- 
doned Androclus. The people were delighted, and they 
cried, " Let them both go free ! " 

— From " Progressive Course in Reading." 



14 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 15 
ORAL EXERCISE 

1. When and where did the Romans Uve ? 

2. What was the arena ? 

3. For what purpose did the Romans use it ? 

4. What lesson is taught in this story ? 

5. Tell the story of Androclus and the lion in your own words. 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write the story of the meeting of Androclus and the lion in 
the arena. 

SECTION 16 

CAPITAL LETTERS 

Study the following sentences carefully so that you can write 
them correctly : 

1. Mary Alice Norton came to Salem. 

2. Henry Brown went to Chicago. 

3. William Henry Martin lives in Boston. 

4. St. Louis is the largest city in Missouri. 

5. Charleston is in South Carolina. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

How many names of persons in these sentences ? 

How many names of cities ? 

How many names of states ? 

Read all the names of persons. 

Read all the names of cities. 

Read all the names of states. 

All these names begin with capital letters. 



Surnames and Given Names 15 

In "Androclus and the Lion," Section 14, find the names that 
apply to persons. 

Find the names of places. Do all these names begin with 
capital letters ? 

Every word in the name of a person or a place should begin with a 
capital letter. 

When you write the word " I " instead of your own name, you 
should use a capital letter. 

In the following stanza, where are capital letters used ? 
"Then shame on all the proud and vain, 
Whose folly laughs to scorn 
The blessing of our hardy grain, 
Our wealth of golden corn ! " 

— John Greenleaf Whittier. 

In the poem " Questions," Section 6, where do you find that 
capital letters are used ? 

The first word of every line of poetry should begin with a capital 
letter. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write in full the names of five persons that you know. 

2. Write the names of five cities that you have seen or know of. 

3. Write the names of five states. 

4. Write a stanza of poetry that you have learned. 

SECTION 17 

SURNAMES AND GIVEN NAMES 

Write the full names of all the members of your family. 
What name belongs to all of the family? 

The name that belongs to all members of the same family is called 
the family name, or surname. 

Give a name that belongs to only one member of the family. 



1 6 A Practical Language Book 

A name that belongs to one member of the family is the given, or 
Christian, name. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write in full statements answers to the following questions : 
I. What is your given name ? 
2". What is your surname ? 

3. What is your full name ? 

4. What is your father's full name ? 

5. What are the names of five of your playmates ? 

6. What is your uncle's surname ? 

7. What are the full names of three of your cousins ? 

8. What was the given name and the family name of the dis- 
coverer of America ? 

SECTION 18 
INITIALS 

Many people do not write their full given names. They write 
only the first word and the first letter of the other word, or they 
write only the first letters of all the words in the given name. 

William Henry Harrison may write his name William H. Harri- 
son, or W. H. Harrison. 

The first letter of a word is the Initial letter, and when it stands 
alone it should be a capital letter and followed by a period. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy the following names three times; (i) the full name, 
(2) use the middle initial, (3) use both initials. 

William Cullen Bryant, Edgar Allan Poe, 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Quincy Adams, 

Henry Ward Beecher, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, 

Julia Ward Howe, Louisa May Alcott, 

John Jacob Astor, William Ewart Gladstone. 



The Unhappy Pine-Tree 17 

SECTION 19 
FOR REPRODUCTION 

THE UNHAPPY PINE-TREE 

Once a little pine-tree lived in a forest home. His mother 
was near and every day she smiled down on her little child. 
There was no chance for him to get lonely, for he had many 
brothers and sisters to play with, and the oaks and the 
maples were not far away. 

But the little pine-tree stood sulking from morning till 
night, and what do you suppose was the matter } Why, he 
didn't like his needles. He said that they were narrow and 
dark. The oaks and the maples had broad leaves, and he 
thought them so much prettier than his own. 

" If I could only have chosen for myself," said he, 
" instead of these ugly needles, I should have been clothed 
in beautiful gold leaves. Then when my neighbors with 
the broad leaves looked at me, they would bow their heads 
in shame, for their dresses would be much plainer than 
mine." 

The poor Httle tree cried himself to sleep that night as 
usual. In the morning he awoke and frowned at the trees 
with broad leaves. But why were they all looking at him ! 
He glanced at himself. What was his surprise to see a 
beautiful dress of gold, the very kind that he wished for 
most of all. How happy and how proud he felt ! He 
sang and laughed all day long. 

But when it began to get dark, a thief who was passing 
near saw the shining leaves, and, going to the tree, picked 
off every one. He put them into a bag and hurried away, 
leaving the tree entirely bare. 



1 8 A Practical Language Book 

The poor little tree cried harder than ever that night. 
''How I wish that my new leaves had been of glass," he 
said, '* then no robber would have cared for them, and 
the sun shining upon them would have made me most 
beautiful." 

He slept that night, and awakened with a sob, thinking 
how the other trees would laugh at his nakedness. 

But no, he was not bare. He would have clapped his 
hands for joy had he dared, for he was wearing the very 
leaves he longed for the night before. How they glistened 
and sparkled in the sunshine ! He seemed to be clothed 
in diamonds. 

" I can keep these leaves," said the little tree. " A rob- 
ber would have no use for glass leaves." 

That night he was just settling down for a happy sleep, 
when a terrible storm arose. When it had passed, every 
glittering leaf lay broken on the ground, and the tree was 
again bare. 

"How foolish I have been," said the little tree, "to ask 
for dresses finer than those worn by the oaks and the 
maples. If I might only have dresses like theirs, I should 
be happy. No robber steals them, and no storm breaks 
them." 

Then the unhappy little tree slept again. Bright and 
early in the morning he awakened. " Look at my beautiful 
green dress," he said. " Could anything be prettier.-^ " 

Sure enough he had fresh leaves as broad and green as 
those of the oaks and maples. 

But at noon a goat with her kids came through the forest, 
hunting for something to eat. They soon spied the little 
tree, and hastened to nip his fresh leaves. In less than 
an hour not a leaf was left for the little tree to be happy 
over. 



Preparation for Winter 19 

Then he cried as if his heart would break, " Oh, how I 
wish I had my slender needles ! They were green and fair, 
the very best dress for me to have. No robber, nor storm, 
nor animal would bother me any more. Oh, mother, how 
beautiful your dress is ! " 

He slept late the next morning, for he was worn out 
worrying over his troubles. The wind shook the sleepy 
Httle tree to waken him, tossing a spray of needles into his 
face. He awoke with a start, and as he rubbed his sleepy 
eyes he cried, " Oh, I have it, I have it, my dear old 
dress ! — lida brown mcMurray. 

By permission of Public School Publishing Co. 
ORAL EXERCISE 

For what changes did the pine tree wish .? 
What were the results when the wishes were granted ? 
Finally, what dress pleased him most of all } 
Show how his discontent and wishes for other things 
brought him unhappiness. 



SECTION 20 
ORAL LESSON 

PREPARATION FOR WINTER 

PLANT LIFE 

I. Protection of leaf buds. 2. Protection of fruit buds. 

3. Protection of seed. 4. Protection of trees and plants. 

(i) By nature. (i) By bark. 

(2) By man. (2) By environment. 

Note. — Carefully discuss every point in this outline and gather in- 
formation as far as possible from the pupils' observations. 



20 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 21 

COMPOSITION 

Write a composition from the material obtained in the study of 
the topics in Section 20. 

SECTION 22 

THE DAYS OF THE WEEK 

Names Abbreviations 

Sunday Sun. 

Monday Men. 

Tuesday Tues. 

Wednesday . Wed. 

Thursday Thur. 

Friday Fri. 

Saturday Sat. 

The names of the days of the week should begin with capital 
letters. 

The shortened form of a word is called an abbreviation, and a 
period should be placed after every abbreviation. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy the names of the days and their abbreviations. 

Write in order from memory the names of the days and their 
abbreviations. 

Write answers to the following questions in complete state- 
ments : 

1. What is the first day of the week ? 

2. On what days of the week do you go to school? 

3. What day of the week do you have for play ? 

4. On what day of the week is Thanksgiving Day ? 



The Ant and the Grasshopper 21 

SECTION 23 
MEMORY EXERCISE 

THE NOBLE NATURE 

It is not growing like a tree 

In bulk, doth make men better be ; 

Or standing long an oak three hundred year, 

To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere ; 

A hly of the day 

Is fairer far in May, 
Although it fall and die that night ; 
It was the plant and flower of light. 
In small proportions we just beauty see ; 
And in short measures life may perfect be. 

— Ben Jonson, 

SECTION 24 
PROSE STUDY 

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER 

One fine summer day a grasshopper was out in the field. 
She felt so gay that she sang and sang, and was happy as 
the day was long. 

By and by an ant passed by ; she had a grain of corn 
which she was taking home. The ant was small, and it 
was very hard for her to drag and roll it along. 

''Why not come and chat with me.-'" said the grass- 
hopper. "Why do you spend the whole day in toiling 
in that way .'' " 

" I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the 
ant. " I would advise you to do the same." 



22 



A Practical Language Book 



*'Why bother about winter?" said the grasshopper. 
"We have plenty of food now, and the winter is a long 
way off." 

But the ant went on her way and kept on toiling all day. 
When winter came the grasshopper had no food. 

She went to borrow from the ants ; but they would 
not lend, since they had only grain enough for their 
own use. 

So the grasshopper was left to starve, while the ants 
lived all the winter on the grain they had stored away. 



— ^SOP. 



ORAL EXERCISE 



In what season of the year do ants gather food? 

Where do ants store their food? 

Describe the home of the ants. 

What are the habits of the grasshopper in summer? 

What lesson does this story teach ? 

What is the meaning of " Go to the ant, thou sluggard " ? 





SECTION 25 






THE MONTHS 




Names 


Abbreviations 


Names Abbreviations 


January . . . 


. . Jan. 


July. . . . 


— 


February 


. . Feb. 


August . . . 


. Aug. 


March . . . 


Mar. 


September 


. Sept. 


April 


. . Apr. 


October . . 


. Oct. 


May .... 


— 


November 


. Nov. 


June .... 


— 


December . . 


. Dec. 



The names of the months and their abbreviations should begin 
with capital letters. 



The Seasons 23 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write in order from memory the names of the months with 
their abbreviations. 

Write the answers to the following questions, making complete 
statements : 

1. In what month does Christmas come? 

2. .In what month is Decoration Day? 

3. W^hat month is called the month of roses? 

4. In what month is Washington's birthday? 

5. What is the first month of the year? 

6. In what month was the Declaration of Independence 
signed ? 

7. In what month does Thanksgiving come? 

8. In what month does school begin? 

9. Which month do you like best, and why? 
10. In what month does your birthday come ? 



SECTION 26 
THE SEASONS 

1. The spring months are March, April, and May. 

2. The summer months are June, July, and August. 

3. The fall months are September, October, and November. 

4. The winter months are December, January, and February. 

Commit to memory the following : 

THE SEASONS 

" Spring is the morning of the year. 
The summer is the noontide bright. 
The autumn is the evening clear 

That comes before the winter's night." 



24 A Practical Language Book 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write in order from memory the months in each season. 

2. Copy the following, and commit to memory : 

" Thirty days hath September, 
April, June, and November ; 
All the rest have thirty-one. 
Excepting February alone. 
Which hath but twenty-eight in fine, 
Till leap year makes it twenty-nine." 



SECTION 27 

PROSE STUDY 

IRIS, THE RAINBOW PRINCESS 

Queen Juno was the wife of Jupiter, the great king. 
She lived with her husband in one of the cloud palaces of 
the sky, Hghted by the moon and stars by night and the 
sun by day. 

Juno had many followers who were ready to do her 
bidding, but she loved best of all her beautiful maid of 
honor, the Princess Iris. 

No one dared to use the rainbow but Iris, to whom it 
had been given by Jupiter. Whenever Iris was in haste 
to obey Queen Juno's order, down from the palace she 
would sail in a chariot drawn by two peacocks, and if she 
wished she might ride all the way over the rainbow. 

Think of the beautiful Iris, wrapped in a fleecy cloud, 
gliding over this wonderful path in the heavens! Wouldn't 
it have been a lovely sight to see ? . . . 

Iris loved the water best of all things on earth. She 
always wore a chain of raindrops for pearls, and a cloud 



Shoeing the Horse 25 

for a robe. She had an army of soldiers by each river 
bank. Men called the soldiers plants, but their swords 
were always drawn for Iris, and their stately heads were 
adorned with her favorite colors. 

When you see a group of plants clustered at the water's 
edge, with their sword-like leaves pointing to the sky, and 
their blue flowers looking like a crown, remember that is 

the flower Iris loved. —"Classic Myths." 

Write the above story in your own words. 



SECTION 28 
PICTURE LESSON 

SHOEING THE HORSE 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Describe the blacksmith-shop that you see in the picture on 
page 27. 

What tools can you see? What is the man doing? 

Describe a blacksmith-shop that you have seen. 

How did it differ from the one in the picture? 

Tell about the work that you saw the blacksmith doing. 

What tools did he use? 

How did he make his fire burn brightly ? 

What metal does the blacksmith use for most of his work ? 

WRITTEN WORK 

Imagine that the horse in the picture belongs to Mr. Bailey. 
Tell of Mr. Bailey bringing his horse to the blacksmith-shop, 
and of the blacksmith's work shoeing the horse. 



i6 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 29 
POEM STUDY 

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH 

Under a spreading chestnut-tree 

The village smithy stands ; 
The smith, a mighty man is he, 

With large and sinewy hands ; 
And the muscles of his brawny arms 

Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long, 

His face is like the tan ; 
His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns whate'er he can, 
And looks the whole world in the face. 

For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn till night, 
You can hear his bellows blow; 

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, 
With measured beat and slow, 

Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 
When the evening sun is low. 

And children coming home from school 
Look in at the open door ; 

They love to see the flaming forge. 
And hear the bellows roar, 

And catch the burning sparks that fly 
Like chaff from a threshing-floor. 

He goes on Sunday to the church. 
And sits among his boys ; 



Picture Lesson 



27 




J. F. HERRISG 



THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH 



2 8 A Practical Language Book 

He hears the parson pray and preach, 

He hears his daughter's voice, 
Singing in the village choir, 

And it makes his heart rejoice. 

It sounds to him like her mother's voice, 

Singing in Paradise ! 
He needs must think of her once more, 

How in the grave she lies ; 
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes 

A tear out of his eyes. 

Toiling, — rejoicing, — sorrowing. 

Onward through life he goes; 
Each morning sees some task begin. 

Each evening sees it close ; 
Something attempted, something done. 

Has earned a night's repose. 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend, 

For the lesson thou hast taught ! 
Thus at the flaming forge of life 

Our fortunes must be wrought ; 
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 

Each burning deed and thought. 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

ORAL LESSON 

What is a smithy? Describe a smithy that you have seen. 
Describe the appearance of the man who worked in this smithy. 
What m the poem shows that he was an industrious man ? 
What that he was a kind man? What indicates his religious 
character? What his devotion to his family? 

What thoughts are expressed in the last two stanzas? 



Titles 



29 



SECTION 30 



TITLES 



Copy these titles and their abbreviations : 

Abbreviations 
Mr. 
Gen. 



Titles 
Mister . 
General 
Miss 

Reverend 
Esquire . 
President 



Rev. 
Esq. 
Pres. 



Titles 
Mistress 
Governor 
Honorable 
Junior . 
Doctor . 
Colonel . 



Abbreviations 
Mrs. 
Gov. 
Hon. 

Jr. 
Dr. 

Col. 



Titles are usually abbreviated when written with names. When 
not so used they should be written out in full. 

When a name is used as a title it should begin with a capital 
letter. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write from dictation : 

1. Mrs. Stowe wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin." 

2. Leland Stanford, Jr., lived in California. 

3. Miss Alcott is loved by all girls. 

4. Many people went to hear the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 

5. Gen. W. T. Sherman lived in St. Louis. 

6. Dr. Holmes wrote " Elsie Venner." 

7. Pres. McKinley was assassinated. 

8. Dr. and Mrs. Smith will return to-morrow. 

9. Henry E. Williams, Esq., is in Chicago. 

10. Supt. William T. Harris arrived yesterday. 

11. Hon. Geo. G. Vest has retired from the Senate. 

The title Miss is used before the name of an unmarried woman, 
and Master before the name of a boy. These titles should always 
be written in full. 



30 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 31 
THE PARAGRAPH 

THE LION AND THE FOX 

A lion that had grown old, and had no more strength to 
forage for food, saw that he must get it by cunning. He 
went into his den and crept into a corner, and made be- 
lieve that he was very sick. 

All the animals about came in to take a look at him, and, 
as they came, he snapped them up. Now, when a good 
many beasts had been caught in this way, the Fox, who 
guessed the trick, came along. He took his stand a little 
way from the den and asked the Lion how he was. 

The Lion said he was very sick, and begged the F'ox to 
come into the den and see him. 

*'So I would," said the Fox, ** but I notice that all the 
footprints point into the den, and there are none that point 
out." — ^sop. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

In this selection, in how many groups are the sentences 
arranged ? 

What is the thought expressed in the first group of sentences? 

What is expressed in the second group ? What in each of the 
other groups ? 

Several sentences written together relating to one particular 
thing are called a paragraph. 

Each of the above groups of sentences is a paragraph. 

The first word of a paragraph is usually set in to the rights or 
indented, to indicate the beginning of each new thought. 

Point out the paragraphs in "The Goldenrod and the Aster," 
Section 2. 



November 31 



SECTION 32 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy the first four paragraphs of "The Goldenrod and the 
Aster," Section 2, and carefully observe the indentation of the 
first line of each paragraph. 

SECTION 33 
MEMORY SELECTION 

NOVEMBER 

The leaves are fading and falling, 

The winds are rough and wild. 
The birds have ceased their calling, 

But let me tell you, my child, — 

Though day by day, as it closes, 

Doth darker and colder grow. 
The roots of the bright red roses 

Will keep alive in the snow. 

And when the winter is over 

The boughs will get new leaves. 
The quail will come back to the clover. 

And the swallow back to the eaves ; 

The robin will wear on his bosom 

A vest that is bright and new, 
And the lovehest wayside blossoms 

Will shine with the sun and dew. 

The leaves to-day are whirling, 
The brooks are all dry and dumb ; 

But let me tell you, my darhng, 
The spring will be sure to come. 



32 A Practical Language Book 

There must be rough, cold weather, 

And winds and rains so wild ; 
Not all good things together 

Come to us here, my child. 

So when some dear joy loses 

Its beauteous summer glow. 
Think how the roots of the roses 

Are kept alive in the snow. —Alice Gary. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

To what season of the year does this poem refer? 

Give a description of the autumn days suggested by the poem. 

Is snow a protection or harm to plant life? Why? 

Name a plant that retains its life in the seed. Name one that 
retains its life in the roots. Name two that retain their hfe in the 
stalk or trunk. 

To which of these classes do the roses belong? 

How does the coming of spring affect plant hfe? 

What lesson is taught in the last two stanzas ? 



SECTION 34 
QUOTATIONS 

"Will you come into see me .'^ " said the Lion. "No, 
thank you," said the Fox. " Please come, for I am very 
lonely," said the Lion. " I will not come, because all the 
tracks point into your den and there are none that point 
out," replied the Fox, as he ran away. 

Read the exact words that the Lion used. 

Read all that the Fox said. 



Winter and Spring ^^ 

When you use the exact words of another you quote what that 
one says. The words thus quoted are called a direct quotation. 
The marks ( " " ) used to inclose the words quoted are quota- 
tion marks. 

The first word of every direct quotation should begin with a 
capital letter. 

A short quotation should be separated from the rest of the sen- 
tence by commas. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From the selection "The Unhappy Pine-Tree," Section 19, 
copy five quotations. 

2. Write -five original sentences containing quotations. 



SECTION 35 
DICTATION EXERCISE 

WINTER AND SPRING 

Mother. Earth is sound asleep, 

Who, oh, who will wake her? 
"I will," said the mild south wind, 

" I will gently shake her." 

Mother Earth is wide awake ; 

Who will bring her flowers ? 
" I will," said the beaming sun, 

" Helped by April showers." 

— Rebecca B. Foresman. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write from memory two quotations that you have learned. 
Write five quotations, using expressions uttered by your school- 
mates. 



34 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 36 
DATES 

Read the following sentences : 

1. George Washington was born Feb. 22, 1732. 

2. He took command of the American army, July 3, 

1775. 

3. The British army surrendered to Washington, Oct. 
19, 1781. 

4. Washington became President of the United States, 
April 30, 1790. 

5. He delivered his farewell address in September, 
1796. 

6. He died at Mount Vernon, Dec. 14, 1799. 

These sentences give the dates of important events in the life 
of Washington. 

In writing dates we name the month, the day of the month, and 
the year. The year should be separated from the day of the month 
by a comma. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 



Write the date of your last birthday. 

What date is to-day? 

Write the dates of Christmas and New Year's Day. 

Write from dictation the sentences at the beginning of this 



section. 

SECTION 37 
. LETTERS 

MODEL LETTER 

Study carefully the following letter and note its different parts : 



Letters 



35 



D-Mu>erb,CcrLo., 

taAcLcLL| CL|im/rLaoTb/lJyTLC^ £cLaraAjdL cunxcL 
CcroAiyn I OTTL TTuzI ui) oX thjL AXallaru, 
oinxcL ux. Lad a cLJ^gJit W. dnim. to thuzi/L 
{>€aiiIiljULl hLomji. 

loTR koLi) a "i/nji Irta cLoii TLOynruid Bail- 
TLO, ouTucL turo {rtaclc poTUJi^. 3 a/TTL IsLOJurh- 
UTLa to /uLdii, oynxL uk lyxpjLct to Lcui>€ ^ottui 
jtnru trimZ) to ploLGZi) tu^^cltl hmji. 

TWxt TTbonotk tl/TLcifi, dcburOL/bcL LZ) aovrua 
to tcukii UL<6 to CcrtoxacLo S pjurnnJ). Thj^m. J 
i) Kxiii tfi££ L| oii. oiro-ut c£Lnminm.a Pukji^ 
PxcJc. 

liloitQ. to TTUl i) CrOTU. 

Ij ouh. toirvrta {frotWi., 



^6 A Practical Language Book 

Every letter should have a heading, address, body, and con- 
clusion. 

Copy the letter above, and observe carefully the position that 
each part should occupy on the paper. 



LETTER FORM 



BODY OF LETTER 



CONCLUSION 



Punctuation. — The name of the place and the name of the | 

state should each be followed by a comma. The address should 
be followed by a comma and a dash, or a colon. 

EXERCISE IN LETTER WRITING 

Let each member of the class write a letter to some other 
member ; then exchange, and compare them as to form. 



Envelopes 



37 



SECTION 38 
ENVELOPES 



Tl.lj. 



ENVELOPE FORM 



38 A Practical Language Book 

Write a letter for Alice Hathaway in answer to the letter 
from her brother Harry. 
Suggested points : 

1. Glad of his safe arrival. 

2. Wishes to see the home and the ponies. 

3. Would hke to take a trip up Pike's Peak. 

4. Mother says tell Aunt Lucy 

Direct the letter to 1035 Boulder Ave., Denver, Colo. 

Note. — On the envelope should be written the name of the person 
to whom the letter is sent, the name of the town or city, and the name 
of the state. If the town is small, or little known, the name of the 
county should be placed on the envelope, and in large cities the number 
and name of the street. 

SECTION 39 
EXERCISE IN LETTER WRITING 

Write the letters suggested in the following : 

1. George Miller in St. Louis, Mo., writes to Charles Prentiss in 
St. Paul, Minn., telling him of the garden he has made, what seeds 
he planted, the growth of the plants, and how he takes care of them. 

2. Charles Prentiss replies, acknowledging the receipt of the 
letter, and tells of a recent fishing trip. 



SECTION 40 
PROSE STUDY 

HOW THE HORSES OF THE SUN RAN AWAY 

Phaeton was the child of the Sun-god, Apollo. 
** Mother Clymene," said the boy one day, "I am going 
to visit my father's palace." 



How the Horses of the Sun Ran Away 39 

"It is well," she answered. "The land where the Sun 
rises is not far from this. Go and ask a gift from him." 

That night Phaeton bound his sandals more tightly, and 
wrapping a thicker silken robe about him, started for the 
land of Sunrise, sometimes called India by mankind. 

Many nights and many days he traveled, but his sandals 
never wore out nor did his robe make him too hot or too 
cold. 

At last, as he climbed the highest mountain peak of all 
the earth, he saw the glittering columns of his father's 
palace. As he came nearer he found that they were 
covered with millions of precious stones and inlaid with 
gold. When he started to climb the numberless stairs, the 
silver doors of the palace flew open, and he saw the wonder- 
ful ivory ceiling and the walls of the long hall. 

He was glad that the steps were many, and he looked 
long at the pictures carved on the walls by an immortal 
artist. 

There were pictures of bqth land and sea. On the right 
was earth, with its towns, forests, and rivers, and the beings 
that live in each. On the left was the ocean with its mer- 
maids sporting among the waves, riding on the backs of 
fishes, or sitting on the rocks drying their sea-green hair. 
Their faces were alike, yet not alike, as sisters ought to be. 

Up, up the hundreds of steps he climbed, never wearied. 
On the ceiling of this marvelous hall he could see carved 
the stars of heaven. On the silver doors were the twelve 
strange beings of the sky, formed of stars, six on each door. 

The last step was reached. Outside the sky was dark, 
but at the doorway Phaeton stopped, for the light from his 
father was more than he could bear. There sat Apollo, 
dressed in crimson, on a throne which glittered with dia- 
monds. On his right hand and on his left stood the Days, 



40 A Practical Language Book 

bright with hope ; and the Months, hand in hand with the 
Days, seemed listening to what the Years were whispering 
to them. 

Phaeton saw there the four Seasons. Spring, young and 
lovely, came first, her head crowned with flowers. Next 
came Summer, with her robe of roses thrown loosely about 
her and a garland of ripe wheat upon her head. Then 
came merry Autumn, his feet stained with grape juice; 
and last, icy Winter, with frosty beard and hair, and Phae- 
ton shivered as he looked at him. Dazzled by the light, and 
startled to find himself in such a presence, he stood still. 

The Sun, seeing him with the eye that sees everything, 
asked : 

''Why are you here ? " 

'' Apollo, my father, grant me one request, that I may 
prove to mortals that you are my father." 

Apollo laid aside his dazzHng crown of rays, clasped 
Phaeton in his arms and said : 

" Brave son, ask what you will, the gift is yours." 

Quicker than a flash from his father's crown came the 
question from Phaeton : 

''Will you let me for one day drive your chariot } " 

Foolish father, foolish son ! Apollo shook his head three 
times in warning. 

" I have spoken rashly. This one thing no mortal can 
achieve. Nor can any immortal save myself hold in the 
horses that draw the fiery car of day. It is not honor, but 
death, you ask. Change your wish." 

Phaeton answered : 

" My mother taught me that my father always kept his 
promises." 

" It is even so, rash boy. If you do not change, neither 
can I. Bring the Chariot of the Sun." 



How the Horses of the Sun Ran Away 41 

The daring child stood beside the glorious car that was 
higher than his head. His eyes flashed bright as the dia- 
monds that studded the back of the golden chariot. The 
golden axle gleamed through the silver spokes, for the 
chariot was made of naught but gold and silver and pre- 
cious stones. 

Then Early Dawn threw open the purple doors of the 
eastern sky. The stars, answering the signal of the Day 
Star, slowly passed from sight, followed by their marshal. 

The Hours obeyed Apollo's orders, and, harnessing the 
horses, led out the wondrous creatures and fastened them 
to the chariot. 

Apollo bathed Phaeton's face with ointment, and taking up 
the crown of shining rays, fastened it on the rash boy's head. 

With a sigh, he said : 

" My son, you will at least take my advice in one thing : 
spare the whip and hold tight the lines. You will see the 
marks of the wheels where I have gone before, and they 
will guide. Go not too high or you will burn the heavens, 
nor too low or you will set your mother's home, the earth, 
on fire. The middle course is the best. Take the reins, 
or, if even now you will change your wish, abide here, and 
yield the car to me." 

Phaeton leaped into the golden chariot, and with a proud 
smile thanked his father. Then he gave the word to the 
horses. 

They darted forward through the morning clouds with 
the fury of a tempest. Men on the earth thought it was 
noonday and tried to do double their daily work. The 
fiery horses soon found their load was light, and that the 
hands on the reins were frail. They dashed aside from 
their path, until the fierce heat made the Great and Little 
Bear long to plunge into the sea. 



42 A Practical Language Book 

Poor Phaeton, looking down on the earth, grew pale and 
shook with terror. He wished that he had never seen 
these shining steeds, had never sought the palace of the 
Sun, and that he had never held his father to that rash 
promise. 

Diana, who drives the chariot of the Moon, heard the 
mad racket in the sky, and shooting her arrows at the 
frightened horses, turned them aside in time to prevent 
them from dashing her own silver car to pieces. 

Earth cried for clouds and rain. People of Africa be- 
came black because of the terrible heat. Streams dried 
up, mountains burned, and the River Nile hid his head for- 
ever in the desert. At last Earth cried in a husky voice to 
Jupiter, the ruler of the gods. 

Jupiter, from his seat in the thunder-clouds, saw the 
danger the heavens and the earth were in, and hurled his 
lightnings at the rash driver. Phaeton fell dead from the 
chariot. From morning till night, and from that night till 
morning, he fell like a shooting star, and sank at last into 
an Italian river. His sisters trembled so at his fall and 
wept so bitterly that they changed into poplar trees upon 
the river banks. Even to this day they mourn for him, and 
tremble at the least breeze from heaven. Apollo's horses, 
calmed by Jupiter's voice, finally found the track. When 
evening came they entered the western gates of the sky, 
and were taken back, by way of the north, to their stalls 
near Apollo's palace. y^^^^ Catherine judd, in "Classic Myths." 

By permission of Rand, McNally & Co. 
ORAL EXERCISE 

Describe Phaeton's journey to his father. Tell of his arrival and 
his request. His father's answer. Describe the drive in the chariot. 

What does the runaway chariot represent? The stopping of 
the chariot by Jupiter? The return of the chariot? 



Summary of Uses of Capital Letters 43 

SECTION 41 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write a description of Phaeton's drive in the chariot. Make 
not less than three paragraphs and observe the suggestions for 
paragraphing given in Section 31. 



SECTION 42 
SUMMARY OF USES OF CAPITAL LETTERS 

1. The first word of every sentence should begin with a 
capital letter. 

2. The first word of every line of poetry should begin 
with a capital letter. 

3. All names of persons should begin with a capital, 
letter. The initial letters should always be capitals. 

4. Names of places should begin with capital letters. 

5. Names of days of the w^eek and of months of the 
year should begin with capital letters. 

6. A word used before a name as a title should begin 
with a capital letter. 

7. A capital should be used to begin the first word of 
every direct quotation. 

8. The word / is always a capital letter. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy from the hterature already given^ or from the school 
reader, a stanza of poetry that illustrates the second rule. 
Write two original sentences that illustrate rule six. 



44 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 43 
REVIEW OF CAPITAL LETTERS CONTINUED 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write two original sentences illustrating each of the rules in 
Section 42. 

SECTION 44 
PICTURE LESSON 

FRIENDS OR FOES 

ORAL DEVELOPMENT 

1. What do you see in the picture? 

2. What feeling is expressed in the face of the child? What in 
that of the dog? Of the cat? 

3. Why does the toad not hop away? 

4. Where do toads live? What do they eat? 

5. Are toads a help or a hindrance to man? Why? 

6. Where do you think this incident occurred? 

SECTION 45 
WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write the story suggested by the picture. 

SECTION 46 
ONE AND MORE THAN ONE 

1. An oriole has a nest in the tree. 

2. The little orioles are in the nest. 

3. It hangs from a branch. 

4. Orioles hang their nests from the branches of trees. 



Picture Lesson 



45 





46 A Practical Language Book 

5. A wren has its nest in a box. 

6. Some wrens do not build in boxes. 

How many orioles are spoken of in the first sentence ? How 
many in the second? What change is made in the form of the 
name ? 

What other names in these sentences change their form to 
mean more than one? 

Most names change their form to mean more than one by adding 

s or es. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From " How the Horses of the Sun ran away/' Section 40, 
copy a hst of ten names that mean but one. 

2. From the poem " November," Section ^7,, copy a hst of ten 
names that mean more than one. 

3. From the same poem, copy five names that mean but one, 
and change them to mean more than one. 

4. Write the names of five plants that you have seen. 

5. Change the name of each so that it will mean more than one. 

6. Use both forms of two names in sentences. 

SECTION 47 
USE OF /S AND ARE 

In the poem " November," Section ^;^, find the following ex- 
pressions and copy the sentences in which they occur : 

(i) leaves are, (2) winds are, (3) winter is, (4) vest that is, 
(5) brooks are, (6) roots of the roses are. 

Which of these sentences refer to one? Which refer to more 
than one? 

Read those that contain is. Read those that contain are. 

Use is when speaking of one. Use are when speaking of more 
than one. 

Are is always used with yo// whether one or more is referred to. 



The Ferns 47 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Change the statements copied from "November," Section 
;^;^, to questions. 

2. Rewrite the sentences, changing those that mean one to 
more than one, and those that mean more than one to one. 

3. Use is or are in writing statements about the following 
words : breezes, dew, frost, storms, winds, rain, snow, hail, sleet, 
blizzard. 



SECTION 48 
MEMORY SELECTION 

THE FERNS 

" Oh, what shall we do 

The long winter through?" 

The baby ferns cried 

When the mother fern died. 

The winds whistled bleak, 

And the woodlawn was drear, 

And on each baby cheek 
There glistened a tear. 

When down from a cloud. 
Like a flutter of wings, 

There came a great crowd 
Of tiny white things ; 

They fell in a heap 

Where the baby ferns lay, 
And put them to sleep 

That bleak stormy day. 



^8 A Practical Language Book 

Tucked under the snow 

In their Uttle brown hoods, 
Not a thing will they know, — 

These babes in the woods, — 

Till some day in spring. 

When the bobolinks sing, 
They will open their eyes 

To the bluest of skies. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

How are ferns preserved from year to year? 
Do the ferns sleep best in the snow? Why? 
What is meant by " their little brown hoods " ? 
Explain, " open their eyes in spring." Have you seen ferns 
growing? What kind of places do they select for their homes? 



SECTION 49 
ms AND WERE 

In "The Unhappy Pine-Tree," section 19, find the following 
expressions and copy the sentences in which they occur : 

(i) mother was, (2) maples were, (3) they were, (4) thief 
who was, (5) he was, (6) tree was. 

Which sentences refer to one person or thing? Which to 
more than one? In which sentences is 7ms used? Which con- 
tain were ? 

Why is was used in some sentences and were in others? 

Use was when referring to one and were when referring to 
more than one. 

Do not use was with you either in statements or questions. 
You were and were you are the correct forms. 



Written Composition 49 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write five sentences, using was, referring to your Christmas 
Holidays. 

2. Write five sentences, using ivere, referring to the same 
time. 

3. From the selection " How the Horses of the Sun ran 
away," Section 40, copy five sentences in which was is used, and 
five in which were is used. 



SECTION 50 

DICTATION EXERCISE 

Sang the trees, as they rustled together : 
" O the joy of the summer weather ! 
Roses and lihes, how do you fare?" 
Sang the red rose, and the white : 
" Glad are we of the sun's large light, 
And the songs of the birds that dart through the air." 

— From "Summer Changes." 

SECTION 51 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Tell about some trees that you have seen : where you 
saw them ; names of the trees ; whether large or small. 
Tell about the branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit. Which 
are your favorite shade trees } Why "^ 

Note. — Preparatory to writing this composition there should be an 
oral discussion in the class on all points named in the outline. 



50 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 52 
IS AND ARE — WAS AND WERE 

ANDROCLUS AND THE LION (Section 14) 

Copy these sentences, filling the blanks with is or are. 
Copy the sentences again and fill the blanks with was or 
were. 

1. There a holiday in Rome. 

2. Games in the arena. 

3. The emperor in his place. 

4. The people there. 

5. They much excited. 

6. Androclus in the arena. 

7. The lion released. 

8. He angered by hunger. 

9. He rushing upon Androclus. 

10. He quieted at seeing him. 

11. Androclus petting him. 

12. The people surprised. 

13. They cheering loudly. 

14. The emperor pleased. 

15. The prisoner and lion set free. 

SECTION 53 
PROSE STUDY 

PROSERPINA 

I 
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a goddess whose 
name was Ceres. She loved all the plants and grains, and 
cared for them. 



Proserpina 51 

Ceres had a dear little girl named Proserpina. She loved 
her dearly, and would not let her go into the fields alone. 

One day Ceres said to Proserpina, " Dear child, some of 
my poor plants are thirsty. The ground is very dry, and 
they cannot get any water. I must go to see what I can 
do for them. While I am gone you may go to the seashore 
and play with the sea nymphs." 

Ceres put on her bonnet of red poppies. She then 
stepped into her chariot and said, " Good-by, dear child." 

Proserpina stood and watched her mother until she was 
out of sight ; then went, singing, to the seashore. The sea 
nymphs heard the singing and brought her a necklace of 
seashells. 

Proserpina thanked them, and went into the fields to get 
some flowers to make wreaths for them. She picked many 
flowers ; among them sweet roses and blue violets. 

Suddenly she saw a large bush in front of her, covered 
with beautiful flowers. Proserpina wished to take the bush 
home with her. She took hold of it with both hands and 
pulled and pulled. Soon she had pulled it out by the roots ; 
but where the bush had stood was a deep hole. 



The hole grew larger and larger. Suddenly four black 
horses sprang out of it, drawing a golden chariot. 

A man sat in the chariot with a crown on his head. 
His face was gloomy. His clothes were covered with 
diamonds. 

Poor Proserpina was frightened and screamed for her 
mother. Then the man said, '' Do not be frightened ; I 
will not harm you. I am King Pluto. I live in a beauti- 
ful golden castle. All the gold and silver and diamonds 
in the earth are mine." 



52 A Practical Language Book 

Proserpina still cried for her mother ; but Pluto took her 
and placed her in the chariot. 

Pluto now urged on his horses. The chariot passed 
Ceres, who was working in a field. Proserpina cried for 
her mother, Ceres heard her, but could not see her. 

The road grew darker and darker. At last they reached 
Pluto's castle. The walls were made of fine gold ; the 
windows were made of crystal ; the lamps were sparkling 
diamonds. 

But Proserpina was very sad in Pluto's castle. She 
would eat nothing, for she knew that if she did she could 
never see her mother again. 

Ill 

When Ceres heard her little girl scream, she looked all 
around but could not see her. 

She went to the sea nymphs and asked for her child. 
They said, " She went into the fields." Then Ceres lighted 
a torch and searched for her. The sun-god told her that 
Pluto had taken her away to his home. 

Poor Ceres feared she would never see her daughter 
again. She was so sad, she said she would not let the 
plants grow until Proserpina came back. 

The plants did not grow, and the people were unhappy. 

Mercury was now sent to Pluto. He said, " King Pluto, 
Ceres grieves for Proserpina. Will you let her go back to 
her mother ? " 

*' I am sorry if Proserpina must go," said Pluto, " but if 
her mother is so unhappy that she will not let the plants 
grow, you may take her." 

Pluto's servant had given Proserpina a pomegranate. 
When she took it in her hand, she grew hungry. She 
took a bite and swallowed six seeds. 



Oral Lesson ^^ 

Just then Mercury and Pluto came in. Pluto told 
Proserpina she might go to her mother. 

The little girl said good-by to Pluto and started for 
home. When she came the grass grew green, the flowers 
bloomed, and everything looked bright and happy. 

Ceres was sitting on her doorsteps. She saw everything 
turning green. Looking up, she saw her child. Soon she 
had her in her arms. How happy they were ! 

Proserpina told her mother the whole story. Ceres be- 
came sad when she heard that she had swallowed six seeds 
of the pomegranate. 

''My dear child," she said, ''you must stay one month 
with Pluto for every seed you have swallowed." 

"I am not sorry," said Proserpina. "I like Pluto very 
much. He was very kind to me." 

Now, children, let me tell you something about Ceres. 
In the spring, when everything becomes green, we say that 
Proserpina is visiting Ceres. In the fall, when everything 
is bare, Proserpina is leaving her mother. She is going to 
visit Pluto. 

— From Strong's " All the Year Round." 
By permission of Ginn & Co. 



SECTION 54 

ORAL LESSON 

Tell the story of Proserpina in your own words. 

Give references that show Ceres' interest in plants. 

Give references that show the love of Proserpina for flowers. 

Show by reference that Ceres loved Proserpina. 

Did Proserpina love her mother ? Give reference as proof. 

What changes in nature are referred to by this myth ? 

Who was Mercury, and why was he sent to King Pluto? 



54 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 55 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write in your own words the story of Proserpina. 

SECTION 56 
HAS AND HAVE 

1. The year has four seasons. 

2. The seasons have many changes. 

3. January and February have ice and snow. 

4. March has strong winds. 

5. April has many showers. 

6. May and June have pretty flowers. 

7. July and August have summer heat. 

8. September has ripened fruits. 

9. October has hoar frost and falling leaves. 

10. November and December have hoHdays for boys 
and girls. 

Read the sentences in which has is used. 

Read the sentences in which have is used. 

How many persons or things are referred to when has is used ? 

How many when have is used ? 

Which do you use when you speak of yourself ? 

Which is used with the word you ? 

Has is used with words when they refer to one person or thing, 
except with the words / and you. 

Have is used with words when they refer to more than one per- 
son or thing, and with / and you. 



The Tree ^^ 



WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Use has in five sentences about things used by a black- 
smith. 

2. Use have in five sentences about things owned by farmers. 

3. In five sentences, use /lave in connection with / or you. 

SECTION 57 

POEM STUDY 

THE TREE 

The Tree's early leaf buds were bursting their brown, 
"Shall I take them away? " said the Frost, sweeping down. 

"No, leave them alone 

Till the blossoms have grown," 
Prayed the Tree, while he trembled from rootlet to crown. 

The Tree bore his blossoms, and all the birds sung. 
" Shall I take them away? " said the wind as he swung. 

" No, leave them alone 

Till the berries have grown," 
Said the Tree, while his leaflets quivering hung. 

The tree bore his fruit in the midsummer glow. 
Said the girl, " May I gather the ripe berries now ? " 

" Yes, all thou canst see, — 

Take them; all are for thee," 
Said the Tree, while bent down his laden boughs low. 

— BjORNSTJERNE BjORNSON. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Study the above poem and answer the following questions : 
I. What are "leaf buds"? 



^6 A Practical Language Book 

2. What is meant by '^ bursting their brown " ? 

3. How could the frost injure them ? 

4. Why did the birds sing ? 

5. What harm could the wind do ? 

6. What do you understand by the ''midsummer glow" ? 

7. What month is referred to ? 

8. For whom did the Tree bear its fruit ? 



SECTION 58 
CONTRACTIONS 

1. I'm going to play ball. 

2. Can't you go too ? 

3. No, but I'll go with you some other day. 

4. You'll miss a good time. 

5. I don't care; it isn't the last good time. 

For what words do /';// stand in the first sentence ? 
For what ca7i'^ in the second sentence ? 
What words can you substitute for /'// in the third ? 
For you7/ in the fourth ? 

Such expressions as I'm, can't, I'll, etc., are called contractions. 

In contracted words an apostrophe is used to indicate the 
omission of part of a word. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write the words for which the following contractions 
are used : 



I'm 


wasn't 


doesn't 


I'd 


you'll 


hasn't 


didn't 


there's 


isn't 


haven't 


I've 


can't 


aren't 


don't 


we're 


it's 



Summary of Rules 57 



DICTATION 

" Cluck ! cluck ! " said the hen, 

" Don't ask me agam j 
Why, I haven't a chick 

Who'd do such a trick." 

" I wouldn't rob a bird," 

Said little Mary Green ; 
" I think I've never heard 

Of anything so mean." 

"'Twas very cruel, too," 

Said httle AHce Neal ; 
*' I wonder if he knew 

How sad the bird would feel." 

— Mother Goose. 

SECTION 59 
SUMMARY OF RULES 

1. A group of words used to tell or ask something is a 
sentence. 

2. Every sentence should begin with a capital letter. 

3. A sentence that tells something is a statement. 

4. A period should be placed at the close of every 
statement. 

5. A sentence that asks something is a question. 

6. An interrogation point should be placed after every 
question. 

7. Sentences that tell one to do something are com- 
mands. 

8. A period should be placed at the close of every 
command. 



58 A Practical Language Book 

9. A sentence that expresses sudden or strong feelings 
is called an exclamation. 

10. Every exclamation should be followed by an ex- 
clamation point. 

11. Every word in the name of a person or a place 
should begin with a capital letter. 

12'. The first word of every line of poetry should begin 
with a capital letter, 

13. The names of the days of the week, the names of 
the months, and their abbreviations, should begin with 
capital letters. 

14. The word / is always a capital letter. 

15. When a name is used as a title it should begin with 
a capital letter. 

16. A group of sentences relating to one particular 
thing is a paragraph. 

17. The first word of every quotation should begin with 
a capital letter, 

18. Most words change their form to mean more than 
one by adding .5- or es. 

Use is, was, and has when speaking of one; use are, and were, 
when speaking of more than one. Have is used when speaking of 
more than one, and also with / and you. 

SECTION 60 
MEMORY SELECTION 

JUNE 

The robins and blackbirds awoke me at dawn, 
Out in the wet orchard beyond the green lawn. 



June ^^ 

For there they were holding a grand jubilee, 
And no one had wakened to hear it but me. 

The blue morning-glories were sprinkled with dew ; 
There were hundreds of spider webs wet with it, too. 

And pussy cat, out by the lilacs, I saAv, 

Was stopping to shake off the drops from her paw. 

I dressed in the silence as still as a mouse, 

And stole down the stairway and out of the house. 

There, still in the dawning, the garden paths lay 
Where yesterday evening we shouted at play. 

By the borders of boxwood and under the trees 
There was nothing astir but the birds and the bees. 

" If all the wide world had been made just for me," 
I thought, ''what a wonderful thing it would be." 

— From " Prose and Verse for Children." 



PART TWO 

SECTION 61 
PROSE SELECTION FOR STUDY 

CLYTIE 

Clytie was a beautiful nymph who lived among the 
woods and streams. Her golden hair was the color of the 
cowslips in the brook, and her robe was of pale green. 

Sometimes she sat in the meadow beside her favorite 
stream where the wild flowers grew so tall as to half hide 
her ; she seemed almost like a flower herself. She loved, 
as she sat there, to keep her face turned up to the sun as 
a flower turns in the direction whence comes all its Hght 
and heat. Every day she watched the great sun mounting 
higher and higher in the sky or going down toward the 
western horizon. If a cloud came across his face she was 
unhappy. 

So the days of the sun-loving maiden passed. Apollo, 
the great sun-god, who looks down upon mortals, had 
seldom seen anything so beautiful as she, and because she 
was flowerlike and because she so loved the sunbeam, 
determined that she should not die Hke other mortals, but 
that she should become a flower, golden-colored like her 
hair, and like the sun she loved to look upon. The leaves 
are pale green, and the flower, standing high on its stalk, 

6i 



62 A Practical Language Book 

turns its face to the sun. It is said that, as the sun moves 
slowly across the sky, the flower turns its face from east 
to west, and for this reason it is called the sunflower. 
Tell the story of Clytie in your own words. 

SECTION 62 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

THE SUNFLOWER 
Topics : 

1. Description of the sunflower. 

2. Where does it grow? 

3. AVhen does it bloom? 

4. Special characteristics of sunflowers. 

5. The legend. 

SECTION 63 
MEMORY SELECTION . 

THE ARROW AND THE SONG 

1. I shot an arrow into the air ; 

It fell to earth, I knew not where ; 
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight 
Could not follow it in its flight. 

2. I breathed a song into the air; 

It fell to earth, I knew not where ; 
For w^ho has sight so keen and strong. 
That it can follow the flight of song? 

3. Long, long afterward, in an oak, 

I found the arrow, still unbroke ; 
And the song, from beginning to end, 
I found again in the heart of a friend. 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 



Poem Study 6^ 

ORAL EXERCISE 

What is told in the first stanza? What in the second? What 
two facts are stated in the last ? 

What lesson do you think the poet wishes to teach? 

Quote a stanza from some other poem written by Mr. Long- 
fellow. 

Commit to memory the last stanza. 



SECTION 64 
POEM STUDY 

THE FOUR WINDS 

In winter, when the wind I hear, 

I know the clouds will disappear; 
For 'tis the wind that sweeps the sky 

And piles the snow in ridges high. 

In spring, when stirs the wind, I know 
That soon the crocus buds will show ; 

For 'tis the wind that bids them wake 
And into pretty blossoms break. 

In summer, when it softly blows, 

Soon red, I know, will be the rose ; 
For 'tis the wind to her who speaks. 

And brings the blushes to her cheeks. 

In autumn, when the wind is up, 

I know the acorn's out its cup ; 
For 'tis the wind who takes it out 

And plants an oak somewhere about. 

— Frank Dempster Sherman. 



64 A Practical Language Book 

ORAL EXERCISE 

What does the wind do in winter? 
What is meant by " sweeps the sky "? 
In summer what does the wind do? In autumn? 
How can the wind plant an oak ? 
Commit the poem to memory. 



SECTION 65 
INDUSTRY STUDY 

WHEAT 

ORAL DISCUSSION 

1. Seasons for wheat planting. 

2. Preparation of the ground. 

3. Processes of sowing. 

4. Growth and maturity of the grain. 

5. Harvesting and threshing. 

6. Marketing. 

7. Manufacture of flour. 

8. Flour as an article for food. 

9. Extent of wheat belt in the United States. 

10. Value of wheat growing as an industry, also value to com- 
merce. 

SECTION 66 
WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

WHEAT 

Note. — This composition should be an outgrowth of a discussion 
of the outline in the previous section. Use any three connected topics 
and limit the composition to about twenty lines. 



Prose Selection 65 



SECTION 67 
PROSE SELECTION 

A STORY ABOUT GLASS 

Once upon a time, hundreds of years ago, a strange- 
looking ship was sailing slowly on the great sea. The 
ship was heavily laden with soda, and had been out a 
long time. 

The sailors were tired of the tossing of the great sea, 
and longed for the quiet land. 

Suddenly, across the waves, a speck was seen. Surely, 
that must be land! 

A moment later, the cry, "It is land," was heard from 
every sailor. 

Soon the eager men landed and hastened to collect 
sticks for a fire. All were anxious to cook a dinner on the 
land. 

The fire was started and the kettle brought. But they 
could find nothing with which to prop it. No stones were 
to be found. 

What were they to do.'^ Give it up.-^ No, a thousand 
times no! 

"Bring some lumps of soda," called the captain. Soon 
the dinner was cooking nicely; but stop, what was the 
trouble ? 

The fire had melted the soda and sand together, and on 
that far-away coast, the sailors had — what do you sup- 
pose .'^ — Glass. 

This was the first glass ever made. 

— From Strong's " All the Year Round." 
By permission of Ginii & Co. 



66 A Practical Language Book 

ORAL EXERCISE 

1. Discuss the incident of the discovery of glass. 

2. Discuss the manufacture of glass : 

a. As you have seen it. 

b. As you have read of it. 

3. Name five uses of glass. , 

4. Advantages arising from this discovery. 

SECTION 68 
COMPOSITION 

Discovery, manufacture, and use of glass. 

SECTION 69 
REVIEW OF CAPITAL LETTERS 

See Section 59. 

1. Write in full the names of five persons you know. 

2. Write the names of five of your associates, using initials of 
the given name. 

3. Write the names of five places. 

4. Write sentences in which the names of the days of the week 
are used. 

5. Write the names of the months and their abbreviations. 

6. Write five titles that apply to persons. 

SECTION 70 
ADDITIONAL USES OF CAPITAL LETTERS 

1. O Spring, why are you so slow.-' 

2. The Lord God is Creator of all things. 

3. The late President McKinley was a great statesman. 



Letters 67 

4. The Democratic Convention assembled at Spring- 
field. 

5. The Rev. T. M. Johnson, of the Baptist Church, 
offered the invocation. 

6. ''The Light of Asia" was written by Sir Edwin 
Arnold. 

7. The congregation sang " Rock of Ages." 

Names of things personified should begin with capital letters. 

All names of the Deity should begin with capital letters. 

Titles used as part of a name of an individual should begin with 
capital letters. 

Names of political parties and religious sects should begin with 
capital letters. 

Important words in titles and headings should begin with capital 
letters. 

Learn the above rules and write three examples of each. 

SECTION 71 
LETTERS 

1. Review letter forms and parts of a letter. See Sections 37 
and 38. 

2. Write the letter indicated in the following outhnes : 

Mary Allen, in Boston, Mass., writes to her cousin Julia, in 
Mobile, Ala., acknowledging the receipt of her letter the week 
before ; is sorry to hear of her aunt's illness, hopes she is better ; 
recalls with pleasure Julia's visit in Boston the past summer ; wishes 
she could return and attend school with her; gives an account of 
her work in the fourth grade. 

2. Write the answer to the above letter, giving an account of the 
trip home. 



68 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 72 
BUSINESS LETTERS 



oQttkRo-clcJTk., 
TTlax| 25, iqo2. 

'RicjL Cj/LO-CfiAl| Co., 

12514 ChrmMVLd St.,Gil|, 

(^jvrJi^/rru/n.: 3 Lam. j^Li)t alclcL uo-un. 
(LdjjmSl^JirrriSimL i/ru tkii inxovru/n.(j- papjz/u 

3 OL/m amyxLoxLi) to ^xcuAd ^ uucJx a p o-^ l- 

tloTU QyTLcL CCUnTL h^Cj^ LLroxIc to-TTLOn/LO-Ur. 3 
CUTa UTL ^ cLoxrt O/Tul. uAK fiffUJi \\ tKjl JZ/X.- 

qatwuGiXLotlZ) to-cLcuL|. 

3 ULriii cali i/rTbnnriiLdLLaML| aitoA. -Z) cko-ot 
ayrud hrmxcj^ LnrbcLoaAj2/m^mJj). 

"Rai)pjLct?uliL| UO"UA^, 

Ro-i^TTUM^.. 

Carefully copy this letter. 

Note. — In a business letter the heading should include the name 
and address of the person or firm to whom the letter is sent. 



How West Became an i^rtist 69 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write a letter to your family grocer, ordering a supply of 
groceries to be sent to your home. 

2. Write a letter to the pubhshers of the Youth's Companio7i, 
or some other paper, renewing your subscription. 

SECTION 73 
INVITATIONS 

TTLn.. o/TLcL TTW. ^cLoymi) (kZ)Lnji 
\\\sl pijLai)U/ui 0-- L|o-uA coTTbpcunruj at a 
diiiclAM^Z) pcmXu, IujlZ)cLcuj altiA/ruo'OTL , 
7TLoua.Gk 3 1, ciX tlvuiiL o'cio-ck. 
3 310 UuTL^ St., 

TrL(m.ck :2.n, iqojz. 

1. Write an acceptance of this invitation. 

2. Write an invitation to a birthday party. 

3. Write an acceptance to the invitation. 

SECTION 74 
PROSE STUDY 

HOW WEST BECAME AN ARTIST 

Benjamin West was born in Chester County, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1738. He was the son of Quaker parents who 
looked upon painting as a " worldly occupation." All 



70 A Practical Language Book 

ornaments were excluded from their dress, and in their 
sober household there was nothing of art for the boy to 
imitate or inquire about. 

One day, when he was only seven years old, he was 
given a fly brush and set to watch the sleeping babe of his 
married sister. The infant smiled in its sleep. The little 
watcher knew nothing of the ''Angels' Whisper," but his 
genius whispered to him to copy that beautiful smile, and 
he attempted it in red and black inks, the only two colors 
which were at hand. 

A Philadelphia merchant chanced to see some pictures 
which the boy artist had hung about his cottage home, and 
sent him a box of paints, some brushes, several pieces of 
prepared canvas, and six engravings. 

The boy placed the box on a chair by his bedside. 
Unable to sleep, he rose with the dawn, and carried his 
in\plements of art, the first he had seen, to the garret. 
Then he hung up his engravings, prepared a palette, and 
began copying. 

His enthusiasm made him a truant from school for 
several days. He worked secretly in the garret, until the 
school teacher's questions sent the mother into the boy's 
studio. The frown on her placid face vanished when she 
saw there a picture composed from two of the engravings. 
Kissing her little artist, she secured his pardon from the 
father, and went herself to the school teacher to beg that 
her truant boy might not be punished. 

When Benjamin was fifteen years of age. Dr. Smith, the 
president of the college in Philadelphia, offered to direct 
his studies, if his father would send him to the city. The 
good Quaker resolved to lay the matter before the " Meet- 
ing," for the Friends did not think kindly of the ''worldly 
occupation " of painting. 



Prose Study 71 

The " Meeting " assembled, and those serious men and 
women waited in silence for the moving of the Spirit. 
Finally one of the Friends was moved to ask : " Since God 
has bestowed upon this youth a gift, shall we question His 
wisdom ? I see the divine hand. Let us encourage the 
youth." 

The young pain^ter was called in. He stood in the center 
of the room, his father on his right hand, and his mother 
on his left. A woman spoke: 

''Genius," said she, "is given by God for some high 
purpose. What that purpose is, let us not inquire. It will 
be shown in His own time and way. Let us suspend the 
strict operation of our tenets, and give our consent to this 
boy's becoming a painter." 

Then she kissed Benjamin, and the other women rose 
and also kissed him. The men, one by one, came forward 
and laid their hands on the boy's head. Thus Benjamin 
West was ordained to the artist's vocation. 

After working as a portrait painter in Philadelphia and 
New York, he studied in Italy, and then settled in London 
in 1763. The last-named city was his home during the 
remainder of his long and successful hfe. 

As president of the Royal Academy of Arts, he attained 
the highest honors of his profession. Benjamin West be- 
gan to paint when he was but seven years old ; he died in 
1820, at the advanced age of eighty-two. The three thou- 
sand pictures which he painted are monuments of his great 

talent and unfailing industry. —"Progressive Reader." 

ORAL EXERCISE 

1. Tell about Benjamin West's first pictures. 

2. Discuss the action of his church. 

3. To what do you attribute his success as a portrait painter? 



72 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 75 

USES OF SENTENCES 

Find the following sentences in " A Story about Glass/' 
Section 67. 

1. The sailors were tired of the tossing of the great sea. 

2. What were they to do? 

3. Bring some lumps of soda. 

4. Surely, that must be land ! 

Which of the above sentences states a fact? Which asks a 
question? What does the third sentence do? What the fourth? 
A sentence that makes a statement is a declarative sentence. 
A sentence that asks a question is an interrogative sentence. 

When a sentence is used to make a command or a request it is an 
imperative sentence. 

When a sentence expresses an exclamation, it is an exclamatory 
sentence. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy from your readers three declarative sentences, three 
interrogative sentences, three imperative sentences, and three ex- 
clamatory sentences. 

2. Write three of each kind, referring to your daily work. 

SECTION 76 
DICTATION EXERCISE 

THE MOUSE AND THE LION 

A Lion one day put his paw upon a Mouse. 

" Oh, please, sir, don't kill me ! " said the Mouse. " If 
you will spare my life, I will do as much for you some- 
time." 



Poem Study 73 

The Lion smiled and let him go. 

The Lion ran into a net one day. 

The Mouse said, '* Can't you get away ? Then lie still 
a while and I will help you." 

The net was soon gnawed to pieces. ''You laughed at 
me once," he said, "but have I not done as I promised.'' " 



ORAL EXERCISE ' \ 

I 

Classify the sentences in the above selection according to their 
use. 



SECTION 77 

POEM STUDY 

THE FROST 

The Frost looked forth one still, clear night, 
And whispered, " Now I shall be out of sight ; 
So through the valley and over the height 

In silence I'll take my way. 
I will not go on like that blustering train — 
The wind and the snow, the hail and the rain — 
Who make so much bustle and noise in vain ; 

But I'll be as busy as they." 

Then he flew to the mountain and powdered its crest ; 
He ht on the trees, and their boughs he dressed 
With diamond beads ; and over the breast 

Of the quivering lake he spread 
A coat of mail, that it need not fear 
The downward point of many a spear 
That he hung on its margin, far and near, 

Where a rock could rear its head. 



74 A Practical Language Book 

He went to the windows of those who slept, 
And over each pane, Hke a fairy, crept ; 
Wherever he breathed, wherever he stepped, 

By the hght of the morn were seen 
Most beautiful things : there were flowers and trees, 
There were bevies of birds and swarms of bees ; 
There were cities, and temples, and towers ; and these 

All pictured in silver sheen. 

But he did one thing that was hardly fair : 
He went to the cupboard, and finding there 
That all had forgotten for him to prepare — 

'' Now, just to set them a-thinking, 
I'll bite this basket of fruit," said he, 
" This costly pitcher I'll burst in three ; 
And the glass of water they have left for me 

Shall ' tchick ! ' to tell them I'm drinking." 

— Hannah F. Gould. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

1. What season in the year is represented in the poem ? 

2. Describe the condition necessary for the formation of frost. 

3. Describe the work of the frost mentioned in the poem. 

4. Describe some work that you have seen. 

5. Commit to memory the third stanza. 



SECTION 78 
PICTURE LESSON 

A WINTER SCENE 

Describe some of the ways in which the snow makes 
the landscape beautiful. 

Describe the effect of the frost on brooks and streams. 



7^ A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 79 
PARTS OF THE SENTENCE 

1. Jack Frost came one night. 

2. The trees dropped their leaves. 

3. He painted the wmdowpanes. 

4. The water froze in the pitcher. 

5. How was the pitcher broken .? 

About what is something said in the first sentence ? 

What is said of Jack Frost ? 

How many parts in this sentence ? 

Find two parts in each of the sentences. 

Every sentence contains two parts. One part names that of 
which something is said, and is called the subject. The other part 
tells what is said about the subject, and is called the predicate. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy the following sentences, and draw a short vertical line to 
separate the subjects from the predicates : 

1. The vapor arose from the ocean. 

2. The vapor became a misty cloud. 

3. The cloud floated high in the air. 

4. A warm wind carried it away. 

5. The cloud lay over a beautiful country. 

6. A cold wind found it. 

7. The cloud fell in rain. 

8. The flowers were glad to see the raindrops. 

9. The raindrops flowed into the river. 

10. The river carried them back to the big ocean. 

Copy five sentences from '^ How West became an Artist," Sec- 
tion 74, and separate the two parts of each by a vertical line. 



Uses of Parts of a Sentence 77 

SECTION 80 
PARTS OF THE SENTENCE 

1. Birds build nests. 

2. Some birds make nests on the ground. 

3. They lay eggs in the nests. 

4. Young birds cannot fly. 

5. Mother birds feed the young. 

6. Many birds catch insects. 

7. Others eat berries. 

8. We like the song birds best. 

9. Which birds sing sweetest ? 

Copy the above sentences, and separate subject and predicate as 
in the previous group. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write sentences using the following expressions as subjects : 
the country 6. the farmer's work 

the blue sky 7. two big horses 

a field of wheat 8. lambs in the meadow 

the orchard 9. chickens 

ripe fruit 10. James, the hired man 



SECTION 81 

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE 

In "■ How West became an Artist," Section 74, find the following 
subjects of sentences and supply the predicates : 



I. 


Benjamin West 


6. 


Dr. Smith 


2. 


his genius 


7- 


The good Quaker 


3- 


a Philadelphia merchant 


8. 


young painter 


4- 


his enthusiasm 


9- 


a woman 


5- 


the teacher's question 


10. 


three thousand pictures 



7 8 A Practical Language Book 

In "A Story About Glass," Section 67, find the following 
predicates and supply the subjects : 

1. was sailing slowly 6. was started 

2. were tired 7. could find nothing 

3. was seen 8. were to be found 

4. must be land 9. was the trouble 

5. landed 10. had melted 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write five original sentences, and indicate the subject and 
predicate of each sentence. 

SECTION 82 
TRANSPOSED ORDER 

1. Most beautiful things were seen by the light of the 
moon. 

2. By the light of the moon were seen most beautiful 
things. 

What is the subject of each of the above sentences? 

What is the predicate? 

Where is the subject placed in the first sentence? Where in 
the second ? 

The subject of a sentence usually precedes the predicate, but 
sometimes this order is reversed. This is often true in poetry. 

When the predicate of a sentence precedes the subject, the order 
of the sentence is transposed. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy the following sentences and change the arrange- 
ment to the usual order : 

1. A beautiful nymph was Clytie. 

2. Golden was her beautiful hair. 



The Wonderful Weaver 79 

3. Of pale green was her robe. 

4. Unhappy was she if a cloud hid the sun. 

5. So passed the days of the sun-loving maiden. 



SECTION 83 

PROSE SELECTION 

THE WONDERFUL WEAVER 

I. THE WARP 

There was a young girl in Greece whose name was 
Arachne. Her face was pale but fair, her eyes were big 
and blue, and her hair was long and like gold. All that 
she cared to do from morn to night was to sit in the shade 
and weave. And oh, how fine and fair were the things 
which she wove in her loom ! The cloth was so thin and 
soft and bright that men came from all parts of the world 
to see it. 

Then as, day by day, the girl sat and wove, she said, 
'' In all the world there is no cloth so soft and smooth." 

" Who taught you to spin and weave so well ? " some one 
asked. 

** No one taught me," she said. '* I learned how to do 
it as I sat here in the sun and shade ; but no one showed 
me." 

" But it may be that Athena, the queen of the air, taught 
you, and you did not know it." 

''Athena, the queen of the air .'' Bah ! " said Arachne. 
** How could she teach me .'' Can she weave goods like 
mine ? I should like to see her try. I can teach her a 
thing or two." 

She looked up and saw in the doorway a tall woman 
wrapped in a long cloak. Her face was fair to see, but 



8o A Practical Language Book 

stern, oh, so stern ! and her gray eyes were so sharp and 
bright that Arachne could not meet her gaze. '' Arachne," 
said the woman, " I am Athena, the queen of the air, and 
I heard your boast. Do you still mean to say that I have 
not taught you how to spin and weave ^ " 

*' No one has taught me," said Arachne, *'and I thank 
no one for what I know ; " and she stood up, straight and 
proud, by the side of her loom. 

" And do you still think that you can weave and spin as 
well as I .'' " said Athena. 

Arachne's cheeks grew pale, but she said, '' Yes, I can 
weave as well as you." 

''Then let me tell you what we will do," said Athena. 
" Three days from now we will both weave : you on your 
loom and I on mine. We will ask all the world to come 
and see us ; and great Jupiter, who sits in the clouds, shall 
be the judge. And if your work is best, then I will weave 
no more as long as the world shall last; but if my work is 
best, then you shall never use your loom again. Do you 
agree to this ? " 

" I agree," said Arachne. 

" It is well," said Athena. And she was gone. 

II. THE WOOF 

When the time came for the contest in weaving, all the 
world was there to see it, and great Jupiter sat among the 
clouds and looked on. 

Arachne had set up her loom in the shade of a mulberry 
tree where butterflies were flitting and grasshoppers were 
chirping all through the livelong day. But Athena had 
set up her loom in the sky, for she was queen of the air. 

Then Arachne took her skeins of finest silk and began 
to weave. And she wove a web of marvelous beauty. The 



The Wonderful Weaver 8i 

threads were of many colors and so beautifully arranged 
that all who saw it were filled with delight. 

" No wonder that maiden boasted of her skill," said the 
people. And Jupiter himself nodded. 

Then Athena began to weave, — and what do you sup- 
pose she wove } 

The web which she wove in the sky was full of enchant- 
ing pictures of castles and towers, and of men and beasts, 
and of giants and dwarfs, and of the mighty beings who 
dwell in the clouds with Jupiter. And those who looked 
upon it were so filled with wonder that they forgot all 
about the beautiful web which Arachne had woven. And 
Arachne herself was ashamed when she saw it, and hid her 
face in her hands and wept. 

" O, how can I live," she cried, ''now that I can never 
weave again V 

And she kept on weeping and weeping and weeping, 
and saying, ** How can I live .? " 

Then when Athena saw that the poor maiden would 
never have any joy unless she were allowed to spin and 
weave, she touched her with the tip of the spear she some- 
times carried ; and the maiden was changed at once into a 
nimble spider, which immediately began to spin and weave 
a beautiful web. 

I have heard it said that all spiders which have been in 
the world since then are the children of Arachne ; but I 
doubt whether this be true. Yet, for aught I know, 
Arachne still lives and spins and weaves; and the very 
next spider that you see may be she herself. 

— James Baldwin. 

Tell the story of ''The Wonderful Weaver" in your own words. 
Write a description of Arachne and her weaving. 



82 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 84 

INDUSTRY STUDY 

COAL 
Oral development : 

1. Locate coal-producing sections of the United States. 

2. Coal mining — mine ownership. 

3. Consumers of coal. 

4. Relation of coal mining to commercial, manufacturing, and 
domestic interests of the people. 

Note. — Develop the above topics in oral discussion. 

SECTION 85 
WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write a composition on the coal industry. 

SECTION 86 
PICTURE LESSON 

END OF LABOR 
Write a description of what you see in the picture. 

SECTION 87 
COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS 



Mary and Emma went to Central Park. 
The day was a warm Saturday in June. 
The sun shone and the air was fresh. 
The birds sang in the trees. 
Many children came from other cities. 



84 A Practical Language Book 

6. The dinners were carried in baskets. 

7. Mr. Wilson came over from Trenton. 

Point out all the names in these sentences. 

Which are names of persons? Which are names of things? 
Which are names of places ? 

Which of the names of persons apply to several individuals? 
Which apply to particular individuals ? 

Which names apply to many places ? Which apply to certain 
places ? 

All words used as names are nouns. 

When a noun is the name of any one of a class of things it is a 
common noun. 

When a noun is the name of a particular person, place, or thing it 
is & proper noun. 

Every proper noun should begin with a capital letter. 

Point out the common nouns and proper nouns in the following 
list : 



child 


Albany 


cities 


Sunday 


tree 


lUinois 


Europe 


school 


John 


houses 


chairs 


September 


flowers 


Mr. Jones 


desk 


Christmas 


glass 


President 


women 


hillside 



WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Copy all the proper nouns in "The Wonderful Weaver," Sec- 
tion 83. 

Copy ten common nouns from the same selection. 



SECTION 88 




WRITTEN EXERCISES 




Write lists of five nouns of each of the following 


classes of 


lings : 




playthings foods fruits 


trees 


animals flowers kitchen furniture 


birds 



Exercise in Classification of Nouns 85 

SECTION 89 

Write five proper nouns of each of the following classes : 
T. Persons that you know. 

2. Places th^t you have visited. 

3. Authors of books that you have read. 

4. States nearest your own state. 

5. Officers of your city, town, or county. 

SECTION 90 
WRITTEN EXERCISES 

1. Write five nouns that are names of animals of the following 
classes : 

1. That swim in water. 

2. That are fleet-footed. 

3. That creep on the ground. 

4. That burrow in the ground. 

5. That live in trees. 

2. Use two nouns from each list in sentences. 



SECTION 91 
EXERCISE IN CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS 

1. George Washington was the first President of the 
United States. 

2. President Lincoln was assassinated in Washington 
City. 

3. The whole world mourned the death of Queen 
Victoria. 

4. The greatest inventor in this country is Thomas A. 
Edison. 



86 A Practical Language Book 

5. Henry W. Longfellow is the children's poet of 
America. 

6. Benjamin Franklin was the author of " Poor Richard's 
Almanac," and wrote many famous sayings and proverbs. 

7. The first successful steamboat was built by Robert 
Fulton. 

8. It was called the Clermont and sailed up the Hudson 
to Albany. 

Write a list of the proper nouns contained in the above sen- 
tences, also a list of the common nouns. 

From the selection, " How West became an Artist," Section 
74, copy all the proper nouns and ten common nouns. 



SECTION 92 
POEM STUDY 

THE PIPER'S SONG 



Piping down the valleys wild. 
Piping songs of pleasant glee, 

On a cloud I saw a child, 

And he, laughing, said to me, 

'' Pipe a song about a lamb," 
So I piped with merry cheer. 

*' Piper, pipe that song again," 
So I piped ; he wept to hear. 

" Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe. 
Sing thy songs of happy cheer," 

So I sang the same again, 

While he wept wi^i joy to hear. 



Letter Writing 87 

" Piper, sit thee down and write 

In a book that all may read." 
So he vanished from my sight ; 

And I .plucked a hollow reed, 

And I made a rural pen, 

And I stained the water clear, 
And I wrote my happy songs 
Every child may joy to hear. 

— William Blake. 
ORAL EXERCISE 

Whose words are put in quotations ? 

Why was the request made to pipe about a lamb? Why did he 
weep? 

Why should the piper pipe the same song? . 

Why did the child command that the song be written? 

Tell how the piper wrote his songs. 

Does the command that the song be written indicate the char- 
acter of the child? Why? 

WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write the thought of the poem as it appeals to you. 

SECTION 93 
LETTER WRITING 

Alice Chester, San Francisco, Cal., writes to three of her class- 
mates, Mary Reed, Bessie Baldwin, and Olive Denman, inviting 
them to spend Saturday with her at her home. Mary and Bessie 
accept the invitation. 

Olive regrets that on account of the illness of her mother she 
cannot be present. Write invitations, and the rephes. 

See Section 37. 



88 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 94 
MEMORY SELECTION 

CHILD AND FLOWER 

Innocent child and snow-white flower ! 

Well are ye paired in your opening hour. 
Thus should the pure and lovely meet, 

Stainless with stainless, and sweet with sweet. 



White as those leaves just blown apart 
Are the folds of thy own young heart ; 

Guilty passion and cankering care 
Never have left their traces there. 



Artless one ! though thou gazest now 

O'er the white blossom with earnest brow, 

Soon will it tire thy childish eye ; 
Fair as it is, thou wilt throw it by. 

Throw it aside in thy weary hour, 

Throw to the ground the fair white flower ; 

Yet, as the tender years depart. 

Keep that white and innocent heart. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 

By permission of Putnam's Sons. 
ORAL EXERCISE 

Explain '' your opening hour." 

In second stanza tell meaning of "cankering care"; in third, 
" earnest brow "; in fourth, " tender years " and " white and inno- 
cent heart." 



Plural Nouns 89 



SECTION 95 
SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS 

From the sentences used in Section 87, make a list of the nouns 
that refer to but one. Make. a Hst of those that refer to more than 
one. 

Nouns that refer to but one person or thing are singular nouns. 

Nouns that refer to more than one are plural nouns. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From selection, "The Frost," Section 78, copy five singular 
nouns and five plural nouns. 

2. Use three of the singular nouns and two of the plural nouns 
in sentences. 

SECTION 96 

FORMATION OF PLURALS 

Most nouns that mean but one change their form to 
mean more than one by adding s or es. 

1. Write both singular and plural of ten nouns that form their 
plurals by adding s. 

2. Write both forms of five nouns that form their plurals by 
adding es. 

SECTION 97 

PLURAL NOUNS 

Most nouns that end in y change y to i and add es to 
form the plural ; as, city, cities ; berry, berries ; lily, lilies ; 
etc. ; but when the y is preceded by a vowel it is retained 
and s is added to form the plural ; as, boy, boys ; day, days. 



90 A Practical Language Book 

Some nouns ending in / or fe change / or fe to v and 
add es to form the plural; as, loaf, loaves ; knife, knives ; 
etc. 

Some nouns form their plurals irregularly ; as man, men; 
child, children ; goose, geese ; etc. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write the plurals of the following nouns according to the pre- 
ceding rules : 

shelf rock hero boy 

wolf tree daisy pony 

horse sheaf body , baby 

calf tooth foot woman 

story thief " ox beef 

picture key ' day 



SECTION 98 
INDUSTRY STUDY 

SILKWORM 

1. Describe caterpillars and how they change to other forms. 

2. Name and describe some caterpillars you have seen. 

3. Upon what does the silkworm feed? 

4. Describe the cocoon of the silkworm. 

5. Describe the process of silk manufacture. 

SECTION 99 
WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write a composition from the material developed in Section 98. 




By permission. Cupyright , 1S98, hi/ XcUure Study Pub. Co 

THE SILKWORM 
I. Silkworm Eggs. 5. Male Moth. 

2. Fourth Stage Worm 6. Female Moth. 

3 Pupa in Cocoon 7. Unspun Silk. 

4. Cocoon 8. Woven Silk. 



92 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 100 
POEM STUDY 

SILKWORM 

Silkworm on the mulberry tree, 

Spin a silken robe for me ; 
Draw the threads out fine and strong, 

Longer yet — and very long ; 
Longer yet — 'twill not be done 

Till a thousand more are spun. 
Silkworm, turn this mulberry tree 

Into silken threads for me ! 

All day long, and many a day, 

Busy silkworms spin away ; 
Some are ending, some beginning, 

Nothing thinking of but spinning. 
Well for them ! Like silver light. 

All the threads are smooth and bright ; 
Pure as day the silk must be, 

W^oven from the mulberry tree. 

Ye are spinning well and fast, 

'Twill be finished all at last ; 
Twenty thousand threads are drawn 

Finer than the finest lawn ; 
xA.nd as long, this silken twine. 

As the equinoctial line ! 

What a change ! The mulberry tree 

Turneth into silk for me ! 

— Mary Howitt. 



rossessives 93 

SECTION 101 
POSSESSIVES 

1. John's hat was lost. 

2. It was lost near Mr. Smith's store. 

3. The children's playground was there. 

4. Several boys' hats were lost at the same time. 

In these sentences the words John's, Mr. Smith'' s, children's, 
and boys', indicate ownership or possession. Such words are said 
to have a possessive form, or to be possessives. 

The possessives of most nouns are formed by adding an apos- 
trophe (') and letter s. 

Nouns that end in s sometimes form the possessive by adding the 
apostrophe only. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write sentences using the following as subjects : 

men's hats ship's crew bees' wings 

city's wealth robin's nest baby's carriage 

soldiers' guns ladies' shoes 

2. Write the possessive singular and the possessive plural of 
each of the following nouns : 



book 


' leaf 


story 


child 


bird 


horse 


man 


cloud 


ox 


tree 


fly 


steamer 


fish 


farmer 


flower 




sword 


fox 


school 





3. Use in sentences five of the singular possessive forms and 
five of the plural possessive forms. 



94 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 102 
PROSE STUDY 

HOW THOR CAME BY HIS HAMMER 

Thor had a very beautiful wife, named Sif, whom he 
loved dearly. She had lovely golden hair, which hung in 
long, wavy locks about her head. Thor was very proud of 
her golden hair, and the other gods knew it. 

Now Loki was a mischief-making god who sometimes 
came to Thor's castle. He loved nothing better than to 
play tricks on those about him, and very often got him- 
self and others into trouble by his pranks. He was not 
always kind, — indeed, very often he was quite cruel ; and 
when he got some one else into deep trouble, laughed 
heartily at his plight. 

Once when Thor had gone on one of his long journeys 
to the Mountain Giants, Loki came to Thor's castle in the 
sky. As he stepped on the porch, he saw Sif lying asleep. 
Her beautiful golden hair lay loose over the pillow. 

'' Now for some fun," said Loki. " I will cut off Sif's 
hair while she sleeps, and then see how angry Thor will 
be." So he went very cautiously to Sif's side, cut off the 
lovely golden tresses and ran away with them. 

Poor Sif felt very badly when, on awakening, she found 
that all her beautiful locks had been stolen while she slept. 

By and by Thor came home and found her weeping bit- 
terly over the loss. Then, indeed, Thor was very angry ; 
so angry that even the fun-loving Loki was frightened and 
tried to avoid meeting him. But he could not long hide 
from Thor, who was searching everywhere for him. " No 
one but Loki would do such a thing," said he, "and I shall 
punish him for it." 



How Thor Came by His Hammer 95 

After a while Thor found Loki. " Did you cut off Sif's 
beautiful hair?" said he. Loki, seeing that he had been 
fairly caught, acknowledged it was he who did the mischief. 

''Then," said Thor, "you must pay for it," and, taking 
hold of Loki, he shook him severely until he promised to 
bring something to take the place of the golden locks he 
had so cruelly cut off. 

Loki was very much troubled for a time, wondering what 
he could bring Sif that would be as beautiful as her hair. 
At last he thought of his friends, the dwarfs, who lived 
deep down in the ground. These dwarfs were tiny little 
men who worked constantly, always doing good and won- 
derful things for others. And so when they saw Loki in 
trouble, they set to work at once to help him out of the 
difficulty. 

Loki said, " Can you not make me a crown of golden 
thread that will grow like real hair.?" ''Yes," said the 
dwarfs, "we can." All night long these busy little men 
worked, and, when the light of the day came, the crown 
was finished. 

All the gods lived in Asgard, and thither Loki carried 
the crown and gave it to Thor, who set it on Sif's head. 
" It is very wonderful," said all the gods. 

A little dwarf named Brok was standing near and said, 
" I will make something for Thor just as wonderful as the 
crown of golden hair." Loki and the other gods laughed 
at him. " Let us see what you can make," said they. 

So Brok went down into the ground where the dwarfs 
work, and told his brother what had been said. " We 
will let them see," said he, and to work they went in 
earnest. 

Loki turned himself into a fly and tormented little Brok, 
hoping thus to prevent him from doing his best work ; but 



g6 A Practical Language Book 

Brok worked on faithfully until the wonderful hammer was 
finished. When the hammer was finished Brok took it as a 
gift to Thor, and the gods said it was even more wonderful 
than the crown of golden thread which grew like real hair. 

" It is not a true story," some boy or girl who reads this 
book may say. Yes, it is a true story, and just as true 
to-day as it was hundreds of years ago when the Norse 
fathers told it to their children in the long winter evenings 
as they sat about the fire. 

For Thor was the god of thunder and heat, and Sif, his 
beautiful wife, was the earth. The wavy grass which the 
summer sun turned golden in color was the hair of which 
Thor was so proud ; and the dry, hot wind was Loki, the 
god who did so much mischief and carried away Sif's 
hair. 

The busy little dwarfs under the ground were the roots, 
which drew the sun's heat down and then after a while 
gave it back ; just as the Norseman said the hammer always 
returned to Thor's hand of its own accord. 

We enjoy the beautiful stories which the old Norsemen 
have left us, but are you not glad that we live in a time 
when more of the truth is known about the earth, and all 
the living things, than they knew then ? 

— " Progressive Reader." 
ORAL EXERCISE 

Who were Thor, Sif, and Loki ? 

Tell of Loki's joke and how he had to make amends for it. 

From whom and how did Thor get the hammer ? In what way 
is this a true story? Why was it a true story to the old Norse- 
men? Why is it a true story to us? 

What is your opinion of the character of Loki ? Do you Hke 
people of that character ? Why ? 



Pronouns 



97 



SECTION 103 



PRONOUNS 



" I am going home," said Harry. 

"Will you go with me, Tom ? " 

" No, I promised Fred I would wait for him.' 

''There he comes now with his sister." 

" She has her books in her hand." 

" They can go with us." 

"We are glad they have come." 



To whom does / refer in the first sentence ? You and me in 
the second ? / and him in the third ? What words refer to Fred 
in the fourth? To whom do she and he?- refer in the fifth? 

Whose names may be written instead of t]iey, tis, and we in the 
last two sentences ? The words /, you, me, him, he, we, us, and 
they are used instead of nouns. 

A word used instead of a noun is a pronoun. 



WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1 . Make the following lists of pronouns from the selection, " How 
Thor came by his Hammer," Section 102. 

{a) Ten that refer to one person or thing. 

{b) Ten that refer to more than one person or thing. 

2. The following pronouns are used to refer to persons and are 
called personal pronouns : /, my, me, we, our, its, you, your, he, him, 
his, they, their, them, she, her, it, and its. 



It, though it stands for a thing, and not a person, is 



Note 
classed as a personal pronoun 



3. Write five original sentences that contain personal pronouns 
referring to more than one person or thing. 



98 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 104 
VERBS 

1. The sun shines. 

2. The leaves appear. 

3. The birds sing. 

4. Spring is here. 

Name the subjects in the above sentences. What is stated, or 
asserted, about the sun ? What is asserted about the leaves ? What 
is asserted about the birds ? Read the fourth sentence, omitting is. 
Do the remaining words assert anything? What word is needed 
to make the assertion? 

A word that states or asserts something is a verb. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Make a Hst of the verbs found in both Usts of sentences in 
Section 79. 

2. In ''The Wonderful Weaver," Section 83, find the verbs in 
the following hst and copy the sentences in which they occur : 

wove taught can teach stood 



came 


asked looked 


thank 


sat 


learned saw 


was gone 


said 


showed heard 

SECTION 105 
EXERCISE 


were flitting 



I. In "How Thor came by his Hammer," Section 102, the 
words in the following hst are used as subjects of sentences ; find 
them and their asserting words and use them in constructing 
new sentences : 







Birds' 


Nests 




Thor 


who 




we 


you 


she 


men 




hammer 


Norsemen 


Loki 


gods 




fathers 




I 


Brok 




boy 





99 



2. From the same selection make a list of ten verbs. Use five 
of these verbs in sentences. 



SECTION 106 
WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1 . Write sentences using the following verbs : 

builds looked strikes am going stand 

glided watched shall study streamed has written 

2. Select ten verbs from "The Piper's Song," Section 92. Use 
them in sentences. 

SECTION 107 
POEM STUDY 

BIRDS' NESTS 



The skylark's nest among the grass 
And waving corn is found ; 

The robin's on a shady bank, 
With oak leaves strewn around. 



The wren builds in an ivied thorn, 
Or old and ruined wall ; 

The mossy nest, so covered in, 
You scarce can see at all. 



LofC. 



lOO A Practical Language Book 

The martins build their nests of clay, 
In rows beneath the eaves ; 

While silvery lichens, moss, and hair, 
The chaffinch interweaves. 



The cuckoo makes no nest at all, 
But through the wood she strays 

Until she finds one snug and warm, 
And there her eggs she lays. 

The sparrow has a nest of hay, 

With feathers warmly lined ; 
The ringdove's careless nest of sticks 

On lofty trees we find. 

Rooks build together in a wood, 

And often disagree ; 
The owl will build inside a barn 

Or in a hollow tree. 

The blackbird's nest of grass and mud, 
In brush and bank is found ; 

The lapwing's darkly spotted eggs 
Are laid upon the ground. 

The magpie's nest is girt with thorns 

In leafless tree or hedge ; 
The wild duck and the water hen 

Build by the water's edge. 

Birds build their nests from year to year, 

According to their kind, — 
Some very neat and beautiful. 

Some easily designed. 



Ulysses at the King's Palace loi 

The habits of each httle bird, 

And all its patient skill, 
Are surely taught by God Himself 

And ordered by His will. 

— From "Lincoln Collection." 

Note. — In the study of this poem the pupils should compare, as far 
as possible, the statements made here with their own observations. 



SECTION 108 
ORAL LESSON 

Describe the birds' nests that you have seen. 

1. When did you see them? 

2. Where were they? 

3. How constructed ? 

4. Did you know what birds made them? How did you 
know it? 

5. What have you learned from this poem that you did not 
know before? 

6. Will you have more interest in birds' nests? Why? 

SECTION 109 
ULYSSES AT THE KING'S PALACE 

Ulysses followed at a short distance, until the mules and 
the cart and the laughing girls all turned into an orchard 
and vanished among the trees. He stopped and looked 
around him. 

The west wind blew across his face like a friendly caress. 
It was sweet with the fragrance of plum-blossoms. Over 
l^e hedge grew thrifty fig trees, olives, pears, and pome- 
granates, some in bloom, others hung with ripening fruit. 



I02 A Practical Language Book 

To the left, in the mellow sunset light, stretched the gently 
sloping vineyards, with their rows upon rows of trellised 
vines. Servants were bringing in their baskets filled with 
purple grapes ; for in this country one could gather fruit 
the whole year round. 

With a sigh of satisfaction, Ulysses started on toward 
the palace, which was almost hidden in its nest of trees. 

The king and queen and their household sat around the 
hearth, for the evening was growing chilly. Along the 
walls were benches covered with soft skins and rugs. 
Here Nausicaa and her maids were sitting at their spin- 
ning. They had not spoken of meeting the stranger. 

But the firelight rose and fell, and flared again, and lo, 
there he knelt before the queen! It was as if Minerva had 
wrapped him in a cloud, for no one saw him enter. They 
gazed at him in dumb astonishment. 

"Good queen," said Ulysses, placing his hands upon her 
knees, " I am friendless and a stranger." But the queen 
was still silent, looking at him keenly. He arose and 
walked away and seated himself in the ashes by the 
hearth like a common beggar. The queen was wondering 
how the man had come by the clothes he wore, for they 
were made in the pattern of her own looms. But the king 
had not observed this. 

"Arise, stranger," he said cordially. "Thou hast sur- 
prised us, but we cannot let thee sit there in the cinders. 
Medon, mix a bowl of wine and let us all pour out a liba- 
tion to Father Jove, protector of the friendless." 

It was clear that the stranger was to be made welcome. 
A dark-eyed maid hurried to bring the silver basin for 
washing the hands, another placed a chair for him at the 
king's right hand ; a third set food for him. The king's 
sons and their henchmen, in turn, sipped a bowl of the 



Ulysses at the King*s Palace 103 

sweet wine mixed with water, and poured the lees out on 
the hearth as an offering to Jove. 

But all this time the queen sat wondering. At last, 
'* Thy pardon, stranger," she said, "but I cannot forbear to 
ask thee wherevthou didst find thy mantle." 

*'The story is a long one, lady," said Ulysses, smiling. 

"Tell it," the queen commanded. 

He began with Calypso's raft and the shipwreck, and 
told how he had been cast ashore. Then, " As I awoke 
from a long sleep in the thicket," he continued, " I saw thy 
daughter and her maids near by. She is so beautiful, 
said I to myself, surely she is a goddess ! And well she 
might have been, for she gave me not only clothing, as 
thou seest, but far better, hope and rest and friends." 

Nausicaa, sitting in the shadow by the wall, and hearing 
herself praised, blushed rosy red, like the modest little prin- 
cess that she was. ^ ^ ,, „^-, 

— From Cook s " Ulysses. 
Note. — Make the above story a study and reading lesson. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Give the story in your own words. 

What expression suggests the dimate and fruitfulness of the 
country ? 

What prompted Ulysses to enter the palace ? What conditions 
in the palace were characteristic of early civilization ? 

What courtesies were extended to Ulysses ? How did they differ 
from courtesies offered to strangers in our country at the present 
day? 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write in your own words all that occurred after Ulysses entered 
the palace of the king. 



I04 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 110 
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 

In "How West became an Artist," Section 74, are the fol- 
lowing expressions: ''worldly occupation," "beautiful smile," 
"little artist," "successful life," "highest honors," " unfaihng 
industry." 

The words occupation, smile, artist, life, honors, and industry 
are nouns. The other words are not nouns. They add to the 
meaning of the nouns by expressing some idea of kind or quality, 
and are called adjectives. 

The expressions, think kindly, worked secretly, and 2aas moved 
finally, are found in the same selection. The first words in the 
expressions are verbs, the other words add to the meaning of the 
verbs by stating how or when the action was performed, and are 
called adverbs. 

Adjectives modify or limit nouns. 

Adverbs modify or limit verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. 

Note. — Teachers should teach adverbs only as modifiers of verbs. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

In the poem "Birds' Nests," Section 107, find the following 
adjectives and copy them with the nouns they modify : 

mossy careless spotted wild 

silvery hollow leafless patient 

In the selection, "How Thor came by his Hammer," Section 
102, find the following adverbs, and copy them with the verbs 
they modify : 

dearly heartily bitterly fairly constantly 

better cautiously everywhere severely faithfully 



Articles 105 



SECTION 111 
WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Make a list of ten adjectives found in the selection, 
" Clytie," Section 61. Use five of them in sentences. 

2. In "Proserpina," Section 53, find five adverbs. Use them 
in sentences. 

SECTION 112 
WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write an advertisement of an article found. 

2. Write a message to be sent by telegraph. 

3. Write a notice of a " Situation Wanted." 

4. Write an advertisement of a residence for sale. 

5. Write a request for the loan of a book. 



SECTION 113 
ARTICLES 

A, an, and the are adjectives that are called articles. 

A and an are indefinite articles, and the is a definite article. 
A is used before words beginning with a consonant sound; as, 
a man, a house, etc. 

An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound; as, 
a7i apple, an orange. 

This and that and their plurals, these and those, are adjectives 
which are used for designating or pointing out. This and these 
are used to refer to things near by ; as, this box, these apples. 

That and those are used to refer to things more remote ; as, 
that basket and those peaches. 



io6 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 114 
PROSE STUDY 

TRAGEDIES OF THE NESTS 

The life of the birds, especially of our migratory song 
birds, is a series of adventures and of hairbreadth escapes. 
Very few of them probably die a natural death, or even 
live out half their appointed days. The home instinct is 
strong in birds, as it is in most creatures ; and I am con- 
vinced that every spring a large number of those which 
have survived the Southern campaign return to their old 
haunts to breed. 

A Connecticut farmer took me out under his porch, 
one April day, and showed me a phoebe bird's nest six 
stories high. The same bird has no doubt returned year 
after year ; and as there was room for only one nest 
upon her favorite shelf, she had each season built a new 
nest upon the old as a foundation. I have heard of 
a white robin that nested several years in succession in 
the suburbs of a Maryland city. A sparrow with a very 
marked peculiarity of song, I have heard several seasons 
in my own locality. But the birds do not all live to return 
to their old haunts : the bobolinks and starlings run a 
gantlet of fire from the Hudson to the Savannah, and 
the robins and meadow larks and other song birds are shot 
by boys and pot hunters in great numbers, to say nothing 
of their danger from hawks and owls. But of those 
that do return what perils beset their nests, even in the 
most favored localities ! The cabins of the early settlers, 
when the country was swarming with hostile Indians, were 
not surrounded by such danger. The tender households 



Tragedies of the Nests 107 

of the birds are not only exposed to hostile Indians, in 
the shape of cats and collectors, but to numerous blood- 
thirsty animals against whom they have no defense but 
concealment. They lead the darkest kind of pioneer life, 
even in our gardens and orchards, and under the walls of 
our houses. Not a day or night passes, from the time the 
eggs are laid till the young are flown, when the chances 
are not greatly in favor of the nest being robbed and its 
.contents devoured by owls, skunks, minks, and coons at 
night, and by crows, jays, squirrels, weasels, snakes, and 
rats during the day. Infancy, we say, is hedged about 
by many perils ; but the infancy of birds is cradled and 
pillowed in peril. 

The first nest builders in spring, hke the first settlers 
near hostile tribes, suffer most. A great many of the nests 
of April and May are destroyed ; their enemies have been 
many months without eggs, and their appetites are keen 
for them. It is a time, too, when other food is scarce, 
and the crows and squirrels are hard put. But the second 
nest of June, and still more the nests of July and August, 
are seldom molested. It is rarely that the nest of the 
goldfinch or cedar bird is disturbed. 

ORAL STUDY 

What are migratory birds ? 

Name some migratory birds that you have seen. 

What is meant by "The home instinct is strong"? 

What have you observed that goes to prove that birds are in 
constant danger? 

Why should we not disturb the nests, nor endanger the lives of 
the birds? 

What is meant by '' Infancy is hedged about by many perils ? " 



io8 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 115 
CONNECTIVES 

1. From "Ulysses at the King's Palace," Section 109, copy the 
expressions : 

" followed at a distance " " was sweet with fragrance " 

" turned into an orchard " " ashes by the hearth " 

" looked around him " " placed a chair for him " • 

2. Also, copy the expressions : 

" he stopped and looked " 
" the king and queen and their household " 
" firelight rose and fell and flared " 

'' thou hast surprised us, but we cannot let thee sit there " 
In the first group, we have a class of words which do a work 
that is different from that done by any of the words we have 
studied. They have no meaning when used alone. The words 
at, into, witJi, by, and for belong to this class. These words ex- 
press relations, and are called prepositions. 

At shows the relation of the noun distance to followed. 
Into shows the relation of the noun orchard to turned. 
Around shows the relation of the pronoun him to looked. 
With shows the relation of the noun fragrance to ivas sweet. 
By shows the relation of hearth to ashes. 

A preposition is a word that is used with a noun or pronoun to 
show its relation to some other word in the sentence. 

In the second group of expressions is found another class of 
words that have still a different office to perform. They do not 
name things, neither do they assert, nor do they express the quality 
of a thing. They simply connect what is expressed by other 
words, or groups of words. 

In the first expression, and connects the words stopped and 
looked. In the second expression, the first and connects the words 



Interjections 109 

king and queen, and the second and connects queen and household. 
In the third expression, the words rose, fell, and flared are con- 
nected by and. In the last expression, but connects the sentence 
"thou hast surprised us" with the sentence "we cannot let thee 
sit there." These words are conjtcnctions. 

A conjunction is a word that is used to connect words, groups 
of words, or sentences. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From "The Wonderful Weaver," Section Zt^, copy ten sen- 
tences in which prepositions are found. 

2. Copy five sentences that contain conjunctions. 

SECTION 116 
CONNECTIVES (Continued) 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

i„ From "How Thor came by his Hammer," Section 102, 
copy five sentences in which prepositions are used. 

2. From the same selection copy five sentences in which con- 
junctions are used. 

3. From a selection in your reader, copy five sentences that 
contain prepositions. 

4. From some other selection, copy five sentences that contain 
conjunctions. 

5. Write five original sentences that contain prepositions. 

6. Write five original sentences that contain conjunctions. 

SECTION 117 

INTERJECTIONS 

There is another class of words that have no connection with 
the other words of a sentence. They do their own work without 



no A Practical Language Book 

the help of other words. They express our feeHng, or our emotions, 
m such expressions as hurrah I oh I alas! etc. These words are 
called interjections. 

A word used to indicate sudden or intense feeling is an inter- 
jection. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

Write five sentences containing interjections. 



SECTION 118 
SUMMARY OF RULES IN PART TWO 

1. Names of things personified, all references to the 
Deity, titles used as a part of a name of an individual, 
names of political parties and religious sects, and im- 
portant words in titles and headings should begin with 
capital letters. 

2. A sentence that makes a statement is called a 
declarative sentence. 

3. A sentence that asks a question is called an inter- 
rogative sentence. 

4. When a sentence is used to make a command or a 
request it is an imperative sentence. 

5. When a sentence expresses an exclamation it is an 
exclamatory sentence. 

6. The part of a sentence that names that about which 
something is said is the subject. The part of a sentence 
that tells what is said about the subject is the predicate. 

7. All words used as names are called nouns. Names 
that apply to several persons, places, or things are common 
nouns. Names that apply to particular individuals or 
places are proper nouns. Every proper noun should 
begin with a capital letter. 



The Wanderer 1 1 1 

8. Nouns that refer to but one person or thing are 
singular nouns. Nouns that refer to more than one are 
plural nouns. Most nouns that end in y change/ to i and 
add es to form the plural ; but when the y is preceded by 
a vowel it is retained and s is added to form the plural. 

9. Some nouns ending in / or fe change / or fe to v 
and add es to form the plural. Some nouns form their 
plural irregularly. The possessive of most singular nouns 
is formed by adding to the singular an apostrophe and 
the letter s. Plural nouns that end in s form the possessive 
by adding the apostrophe only. Plural nouns not ending 
in s add both the apostrophe and s to form the possessive. 

10. A word used instead of a noun is a pronoun. A 
word that states or asserts something is a verb. Adjectives 
modify or Hmit nouns. Adverbs modify or limit verbs, 
adjectives, or other adverbs. 

11. A preposition is a word that is used with a noun or 
pronoun to show its relation to some other word in the 
sentence. A conjunction is a word that is used to connect 
words, groups of words, or sentences. A word used to 
indicate sudden or strong feeling is an interjection. 

SECTION 119 

MEMORY SELECTION 

THE WANDERER 

Upon a mountain height far from the sea 

I found a shell, 
And to my listening ear the lonely thing 
Ever a song of ocean seemed to sing, 
Ever a tale of ocean seemed to tell. 



112 A Practical Language Book 

How came the shell upon that mountain height ? 

Ah, who can say? 
Whether there dropped by some too careless hand, 
Or whether there cast when Ocean left the Land 
Ere the Eternal had ordained the Day. 

Strange, was it not ? Far from its native deep 

One song it sang, — 
Sang of the awful mysteries of the tide. 
Sang of the misty sea, profound and wide, — 
Ever with echoes of the ocean rang. 

And as the shell upon the mountain height 

Sings of the sea. 
So do I ever, leagues and leagues away, — 
So do I ever, wandering where I may — 
Sing, O my home ! sing, O my home, of thee ! 

— Eugene Field. 

By permission of " Frank Leslie's. 

SECTION 120 
POEM STUDY 

SUMMER CHANGES 

Sang the hly and sang the rose. 

Out of the heart of my garden close : 

" O joy, O joy of the summer tide ! " 
Sang the wind, as it moved above them : 
" Roses were sent for the sun to love them, 
Dear little buds, in the leaves that hide ! " 

Sang the trees, as they rustled together : 
" O the joy of the summer weather ! 

Roses and lihes, how do they fare ? " 
Sang the red rose, and sang the white : 



Summer Changes * 113 

*' Glad we are of the sun's large light, 

And the songs of the birds that dart through the air." 

Lily, and rose, and tall green tree. 
Swaying boughs where bright birds be. 

Thrilled by music and thrilled by wings, 
How glad they were on that summer day ! 
Little they recked of the cold skies and gray, 
Or the dreary dirge that a storm wind sings ! 

Golden butterflies gleam in the sun, 
Laugh at the flowers, and kiss each one ; 

And great bees come, with their sleepy tune, 
To sip their honey and circle round ; 
And the flowers are lulled by that drowsy sound. 
And fall asleep in the heart of the noon. 

A small white cloud in a sky of blue : 
Roses and lilies, what will they do? 

For a wind springs up and sings in the trees. 
Down comes the rain ; the gardens awake : 
Roses and lilies begin to quake. 
That were rocked to sleep by the gentle breeze. 

Ah, roses and lilies ! Each dehcate petal 
The wind and the rain with fear unsettle — 
This way and that the tall trees sway : 
But the wind goes by, and the rain stops soon. 
And smiles again the face of the noon, 
And the flowers grow glad in the sun's warm ray. 

Sing, my lilies, and sing, my roses. 

With never a dream that the summer closes ! 

But the trees are old ; and L fancy they tell. 
Each unto each, how the summer flies : 
They remember the last year's wintry skies ; 
But that summer returns the trees know well. 

— Philip Bourke Marston. 



PART THREE 

SECTION 121 

DAYBREAK 

A wind came up out of the sea, 

And said, " O mists, make room for me ! " 

It hailed the ships, and cried, " Sail on. 
Ye mariners, the night is gone ! " 

And hurried landward far away, 
Crying, " Awake, it is the day ! " 

It said unto the forest, " Shout ! 
Hang all your leafy banners out ! " 

It touched the wood bird's folded wing, 
And said, " O bird, awake and sing ! " 

And o'er the farms, " O Chanticleer, 
Your clarion blow ; the day is near ! " 

It whispered to the fields of corn, 

"Bow down and hear the chiming morn." 

It shouted through the belfry tower, 
" Awake, O bell ! proclaim the hour." 

It crossed the churchyard with a sigh, 

And said, " Not yet ! in quiet He." 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 
114 



Written Composition - 115 

ORAL EXERCISE 

In what way is the daybreak proclaimed ? 

What is the meaning of, " O mists, make room for me ! " 

In what ways do plants wake up ? 

What things in nature are appealed to? 

What in the poem appeals to man? 

Interpret the meaning of the following sentences : 
" Hang all your leafy banners out ! " 
'' Bow down, and hear the chiming morn." 
"Not yet ! in quiet lie." 



SECTION 122 
ORAL LESSON 

THE EVENING SUNSET 

1. Describe the appearance of the sun as it approaches the 
horizon. 

2. Describe the effects of the sun's rays on the things about us. 

3. How do they affect the clouds in the sky? 

4. What kind of landscapes do the sunsets affect most? Why? 

5. At what season are the sunsets most beautiful? Why? 

6. Describe a sunset that especially impressed you. 



SECTION 123 
WRITTEN EXERCISES 

Write a composition from material developed in the preceding 
lesson. 

Write a letter to a friend describing a beautiful sunset that you 
have seen. 



ii6 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 124 

ABOU BEN ADHEM 

Abou ben Adhem (may his tribe increase !) 

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, 

And saw within the moonhght of his room, 

Making it rich, and Hke a hly in bloom, 

An angel writing in a book of gold. 

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold. 

And to the presence in the room he said, 

" What writest thou ? " The vision raised its head. 

And, with a look that made all sweet accord, 

Answered, '•' The names of those who love the Lord ! " 

" And is mine one? " asked Abou. " Nay, not so," 

Replied the angel. Abou spake more low. 

But cheerily still, and said, " I pray thee, then. 

Write me as one who loves his fellow-men." 

The angel wrote and vanished. The next night 

It came again, with a great wakening light, 

And showed the names whom love of God had blest ; 

And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest ! 

— Leigh Hunt. 

SECTION 125 

STUDY OF SENTENCES 

What is a declarative sentence? An interrogative sentence? 
An imperative sentence? An exclamatory sentence? See Sec- 
tion 75. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From '' Abou Ben Adhem," Section 124, copy three declara- 
tive sentences, two interrogative sentences, an imperative sentence, 
and three exclamatory sentences. 

2. Copy five declarative sentences from the selection, "Day- 
break," Section 121. 



Compound Subjects and Compound Predicates 117 



SECTION 126 

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE 

Into how many parts is a sentence divided? Name the parts 
and tell the work of each part. See Section 79. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy the sentences indicated below and separate the two 
parts of each by a short vertical line : 

(i) Five declarative sentences from "Tragedies of the 
Nests," Section 114. 

(2) Two interrogative sentences from " How Thor came 

by his Hammer," Section 102. 

(3) Two imperative sentences from "The Silkworm," 

Section 100. 

(4) Four exclamatory sentences from " Daybreak," Sec- 

tion 121. 

2. Write four original sentences of each kind and separate the 
two parts of each by a vertical line. 

SECTION 127 
COMPOUND SUBJECTS AND COMPOUND PREDICATES 

1. The dream and visions pass away. 

2. All things fade and perish. 

In the first sentence what words name the things which passed 
away ? 

When two or more words name different things of which one 
assertion is made, such words are called a compound subject. 

Dreams and visions form a compound subject because passed 
away is asserted of both of them. 



1 1 8 A Practical Language Book 

In the second sentence, what assertions are made of things ? 

How many words are used ? 

Are the assertions the same ? 

Two or more words that make different assertions of the same 
thing are called a compound predicate. The words fade and 
perish form a compound predicate. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

From ''The Frost," Section 77, copy one sentence that has a 
compound subject. 

From "Daybreak," Section 121, copy five sentences that have 
compound predicates. 



SECTION 128 
PICTURE LESSON 

THE SHEPHERDESS 

(le rolle) 

1. Describe what is seen in the picture : 

((2) The shepherdess and the sheep. 
{b) The man plowing in the field. 
(^) The house in the distance. 

2. Tell what is suggested by the picture : 

((^) Of the country and its climate. 
{b^ The season of the year. 
(<r) The method of cultivating the soil. 
(^) The home life of the people. 

(^) Tell something that you have read about herding 
sheep. 

3. Write two original sentences that contain compound subjects. 

4. Write two that contain compound predicates. 



I20 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 129 
COMPOSITION 

WOOL 

1. Length of time for the growth of the wool. 

2. Season for sheep- shearing and manner of cutting off the 
wool. 

3. Preparation of wool for market. 

4. Some good markets for wool. 

5. Manufacture of woolen cloth : 

(a) Carding. 
{/?) Spinning. 
(c) Weaving. 

6. Some cities noted for their manufacture of woolen cloth. 



SECTION 130 
PROSE STUDY 

THE NORTH WIND AND THE SNOW PRINCESS 

The days are growing short and the trees are brown and 
bare. No cheery song is heard in the forest. 

Now is the time to look for the gruff old North Wind, 
who scatters the brown dry leaves. He roars across the 
plains, and sometimes he bends the sturdy oaks beneath his 
power. 

A cross old fellow, this North Wind seems to be, as he 
goes shrieking around the corners and up and down our 
chimneys. But he is not always so cruel. 

Did you ever watch the beautiful cloud-horses that he 
drives across the sky ? Have you seen his beautiful cloud- 



The North Wind and the Snow Princess 121 

chariot ? The Httle stars laugh at him and their eyes shine 
bright. 

His cold breath lays a beautiful shining cover over lakes 
and rivers. The happy waters go sparkling along, almost 
as happy as if the sun shone down upon them. 

But best of all, he brings the little Snow Princess with 
him, and such a beautiful little Princess she is ! 

Her robes are snowy white and her eyes sparkle in the 
sunlight. She floats down from her home above, and with 
her soft hand she touches the brown leaves and shrubs, 
the bare rocks and fields. 

Often the little Princess comes in the still gray morning 
when all the world is asleep. Sometimes she comes when 
the darkness falls. She floats over the fields and she 
dances along the hedgerows. She loads the branches with 
precious jewels that glitter in the sunshine. 

She covers the little sleeping flowers with her soft 
blanket and she whispers a great secret in their ears — a 
secret that only she and they can understand. 

— Adapted from "Classic Myths." 

ORAL LESSON 

In what season of the year does the north wind blow ? 
Why is it called the " gruff old North Wind " ? 
What is meant by " cloud-horses " and " cloud-chariot " ? 
Tell why the snow is called the " Snow Princess." 
What secret do you think she whispers to the flowers ? 
Why are the flowers said to be sleeping ? 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Reproduce in your own words a description of a snowstorm 
that you have read about. 

2. Write a description of a heavy snowfall that you have seen. 



122 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 131 
PHRASES 

1. Thor had a very beautiful wife. 

2. Thor had a wife of very great beauty, 

3. They fled hastily. 

4. They fled in haste. 

5. To return home was impossible. 

In these sentences find the groups of .words that have the same 
meaning as single words. 

How are the first three words in the last sentence used ? 

A group of words having neither subject nor predicate, and used 
as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun, is a phrase. 

Of very great beauty and /;/ haste are phrases. 

A phrase that is used as an adjective is an adjective phrase ; as, 

of very gi^eat beauty. 

A phrase that is used as an adverb is an adverbial phrase ; as, in 

haste. 

In the fifth sentence above, to j^eturn home is a noun phrase. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. In the selection, "Ulysses at the King's Palace," Section 
109, find the phrases given below, copy the sentences in which 
they occur, and indicate whether the phrases are adjective or 
adverb phrases : 

around him of her looms 

with the fragrance of the friendless 

in bloom from a long sleep 

in its nest to myself 

2. From the selection, " How West became an Artist," Section 
74, copy five sentences that contain adjective phrases and five 
sentences that contain adverbial phrases. 



We are Seven 123 

SECTION 132 
POEM STUDY 

WE ARE SEVEN 

I met a little cottage girl, 

She was eight years old, she said ; 
Her hair was thick with many a curl 

That clustered round her head. 

She had a rustic, woodland air, 

And she was wildly clad ; 
Her eyes were fair, and very fair ; — 
* Her beauty made me glad. 

" Sisters and brothers, little maid, 

How many may you be ? " 
" How many? Seven in all," she said. 

And wondering looked at me. 

"And where are they? I pray you tell." 

She answered, " Seven are we ; 
And two of us at Conway dwell. 

And two are gone to sea. 

" Two of us in the church-yard He, — 

My sister and my brother ; 
And, in the church-yard cottage, I 

Dwell near them with my mother." 

" You say that two at Conway dwell, 

And two are gone to sea. 
Yet ye are seven ! — I pray you tell, 

Sweet maid, how this may be?" 



124 A Practical Language Book 

Then did the little maid reply, 
" Seven boys and girls are we ; 

Two of us in the church-yard lie, 
Beneath the church-yard tree." 

*' You run about, my Httle maid. 

Your limbs they are alive ; 
If two are in the church-yard laid, 

Then ye are only five." 

"Their graves are green, they may be seen," 

The little maid replied, 
" Twelve steps or more from my mother's door, 

And they are side by side. 

" My stockings there I often knit, • 

My kerchief there I hem ; 
And there upon the ground I sit. 

And sing a song to them. 

" And often after sunset, sir, 

When it is light and fair, 
I take my little porringer 

And eat my supper there. 

" The first that died was sister Jane : 

In bed she moaning lay. 
Till God released her of her pain ; 

And then she went away. 

" So in the church-yard she was laid. 

And when the grass was dry. 
Together round her grave we played. 

My brother John and I. 

" And when the ground was white with snow, 
And I could run and slide. 



Dictation Exercise 125 

My brother John was forced to go, 
And he Hes by her side." 

" How many are you, then," said I, 

" If they two are in heaven? " 
Quick was the httle maid's reply, 

" O, master, we are seven." . 

" But they are dead ; those two are dead ! 

Their spirits are in heaven ! " 
'Twas throwing words away ; for still 
The little maid would have her will. 

And said, " Nay, we are seven." 

— William Wordsworth. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Tell in your own words the conversation with the Little Cottage 
Girl. 

SECTION 133 

DICTATION EXERCISE 

Write from dictation the following extracts ; 

1. A little of thy steadfastness. 
Rounded with leafy gracefulness, 

Old oak, give me. 

2. Life is a leaf of paper white, 
Whereon each one of us may write 

His word or two, and then comes night. 

3. " 'Tis good to be abroad in the sun. 
His gifts abide when day is done ; 
Each thing in nature from his cup 
Gathers a several virtue up." 

— James Russell Lowell. 



126 A Practical Language Book 

SECTION 134 
LETTER WRITING 

1. Write a letter to a boy or girl in Vera Cruz, Mexico, telling 
of our Thanksgiving, when and where first observed, cause of the 
observance, why the day is a holiday. President's proclamation, 
our manner of observing it at the present time, and how you spent 
last Thanksgiving day. 

2. Harold Thompson, 21 16 Bell Ave., Louisville, Ky., writes to 
H. L. Carter, 428 Beacon St., making inquiries concerning a horse 
advertised for sale. States the kind of horse he wants. 

3. Mr. Carter repHes to the letter, describing his horse, states 
price, and time when horse can be seen. 

In the second and third letters carefully observe the '' business 
form." 

SECTION 135 
PROSE STUDY 

WASHINGTON 

Washington stands among the greatest men of human 
history, and those in the same rank with him are very few. 
Whether measured by what he did, or what he was, or by 
the effect of his work upon the history of mankind, in every 
aspect he is entitled to the place he holds among the great- 
est of his race. 

Few men in all time have such a record of achievement. 
Still fewer can show, at the end of a career so crowded 
with high deeds and memorable victories, a life so free 
from spot, a character so unselfish and so pure, and fame 
so void of doubtful points demanding either defense or 
explanation. Eulogy of such a life is needless, but it is 



Washington 127 

always important to recall and to freshly remember just 
what manner of man he was. 

In the first place, he was physically a striking figure. 
He was very tall, powerfully made, with a strong, hand- 
some face. He was remarkably muscular and powerful. 
As a boy, he was a leader in all outdoor sports. No one 
could fling the bar farther than he, and no one could ride 
more difficult horses. 

As a young man, he became a woodsman and hunter. 
Day after day he could tramp through the wilderness with 
his gun and surveyor's chain, and then sleep at night 
beneath the stars. He feared no exposure or fatigue, and 
outdid the hardiest backwoodsman in following a winter 
trail and swimming icy streams. 

This habit of vigorous bodily exercise he carried through 
life. Whenever he was at Mount Vernon he gave a large 
part of his time to fox-hunting, riding after his hounds 
through the most difficult country. His physical power 
and endurance counted for much in his success when 
he commanded his army, and when the heavy anxieties 
of general and president weighed upon his mind and 
heart. 

He was by nature a man of strong desires and stormy 
passions. Now and again he would break out, even as late 
as the presidency, into a gust of anger that would sweep 
everything before it. He was always reckless of personal 
danger, and had a fierce fighting spirit which nothing 
could check when once unchained. But as a rule these 
fiery impulses and strong passions were under absolute 
control of an iron will, and they never clouded his judg- 
ment or warped his keen sense of justice. 

But if he was not of a cold nature, still less was he hard 
or unfeeling. His pity always went out to the poor, the 



128 A Practical Language Book 

oppressed, or the unhappy, and he was all that was kind 
and gentle to those about him. 

We have to look carefully into his life to learn all these 
things, for the world saw only a silent, reserved man, of 
courteous and serious manner, who seemed to stand alone 
and apart, and who impressed every one who came near 
him with a sense of awe and reverence. 

— Henry Cabot Lodge. 

Copyright, 1896, by The Century Co. 



SECTION 136 
COMPOSITION ON WASHINGTON 

From Selection, Section 135, discuss the following points : 

His physical appearance and his physical power. 

His personal habits and his achievements. 

Did the world see and know the real msin? Why? 

Mention the points of his character that contribute to place 
him among the greatest of his race. 

In his case, did circumstances make the man? Give reasons for 
your answer. 

SECTION 137 
DICTATION EXERCISE 

Review the uses of capital letters, Sections 59 and 118. 

O lovely voices of the sky, 

That hymned the Saviour's birth ! 

Are ye not singing still on high, 
Ye that sang "Peace on Earth"? 

To us yet speak the strains, 
Wherewith in days gone by, 



Clauses 129 

Ye blessed the Syrian swains, 

O voices of the sky ! 
When Christ, the child of Nazareth, 

Was born on Christmas Day. 

— Christmas Carol. 

Give all the rules for the use of capital letters that are illustrated 
in the above exercise. 

SECTION 138 
CLAUSES 

1. A wealthy man lived in the house. 

2. A man of v^ealth lived in the house. 

3. A man who possessed wealth lived in the house. 

4. The man was wealthy when he lived in the house. 

These sentences tell the same thing. In the first sentence the 
word wealthy tells the kind of man. In the second sentence the 
same thing is told by a group, of wealth, a phrase (see Section 

131)- 

In the third sentence the same thing is told by another group 

of words, who possessed wealth. This group of words differs from 
the other, in that it has a subject and predicate. The subject is 
who and the predicate is possessed wealth. 

In the last sentence, the group of words, when he lived in the 
house, has a subject and a predicate, and is used in the sentence 
to express the idea of time. 

A group of words having a subject and predicate and used in a 
sentence like a single word is called a clause. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

I. In "Proserpina," Section 53, find the following clauses and 
copy the sentences in which they occur : 
(i) "Whose name was Ceres." 
(2) " Until she was out of sight." 



130 A Practical Language Book 

(3) " Who was working in a field." 

(4) "When Ceres heard her httle girl scream." 

(5) "Until Proserpina came back." 

(6) "When she took it in her hand." 

(7) "When she came." 

(8) "When everything becomes green." 

(9) "When everything is bare." 

2. Write five original sentences containing clauses. Draw a 
line under each clause. 

SECTION 139 
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES 

1. "He who guides thy certain flight 

Will lead my steps aright." 

2. "There is a Power w-hose care 

Teaches thy way." 

Point out the clause in the first sentence. What word does the 
clause modify ? 

In the second sentence, what is the clause? What word does 
the clause modify? 

What is such a modifier called ? 

A clause that is used as an adjective is an adjective clause. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

I. In "The Wonderful Weaver," Section 8^, find the following 
adjective clauses and copy the sentences in which they occur : 
(i) "Whose name was Arachne." 

(2) "Which she wove in her loom." 

(3) "Who saw it." 

(4) " Which she wove in the sky." 

(5) " Who dwell in the clouds." 

(6) " Who looked upon it." 

(7) "Which Arachne had woven." 



Adverb Clauses 131 

2. From " How Thor came by his Hammer," Section 102, copy 
five sentences that contain adjective clauses. 

3. Write five original sentences containing adjective clauses. 



SECTION 140 
ADVERB CLAUSES 

1. "When the natives beheld the ships they ran to the 
woods." 

2. ''They were afraid because they thought the ships 
monsters." 

What is the clause in the first sentence? What does it modify? 
What is the clause in the second sentence? What does it modify? 
What part of speech modifies verbs ? 

A clause that is used as an adverb is an adverb clause. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From the selection, ''How Thor came by his Hammer," 
Section 102, copy the following adverb clauses and the sentences 
in which they occur : 

(i) "While she sleeps." 

(2) "When they saw Loki in trouble." 

(3) "Until the wonderful hammer was finished." 

(4) "Where the dwarfs work." 

(5) "When the hammer was finished." 

(6) "When the Norse fathers told it to their children." 

(7) "Than the crown of golden thread." 

2. From "We are Seven," Section 132, copy three sentences 
that contain adverb clauses. 

3. Write five original sentences containing adverb clauses. 



132 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 141 

POEM STUDY 

TO A WATERFOWL 

Whither, midst falUng dew, 
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day^ 
Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue 

Thy solitary way ? 

Vainly the fowler's eye 
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, 
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, 

Thy figure floats along. 

Seek'st thou the plashy brink 
Of reedy lake, or marge of river wide, 
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink 

On the chafed ocean side? 

There is a Power whose care 
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast, 
The desert and illimitable air, 

Lone wandering, but not lost. 

All day thy wings have fanned. 
At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere. 
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, 

Though the dark night is near. 

And soon that toil shall end ; 
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, 
And scream among thy fellows ; reeds shall bend, 

Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. 



Adjectives and Adverbs 133 

Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven 
Hath swallowed up thy form ; yet, on my heart, 
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given. 

And shall not soon depart. 

He who, from zone to zone. 
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, 
In the long way that I must tread alone 

Will lead my steps aright. 

— W^ILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 

By permission of D. Appleton & Co. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

To what bird may these lines have been addressed? What 
time of day is represented in the first stanza? What is meant by 
" the last steps of day " ? 

Explain the last two lines in the second stanza. What kind of 
bird would seek such places ? 

What thought is expressed in the fourth stanza? Why does 
"Power" begin with a capital letter? Explain "illimitable." 
What is the thought in this stanza? 

Tell in your own words the thought in stanzas five and six. 

Commit to memory the last stanza. 



SECTION 142 
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

From "To a Waterfowl," Section 141, copy the following 
words and phrases with the words they modify, and tell whether 
adjectives or adverbs : 

last of day rosy solitary 

fowler's crimson along reedy 

of river wide at that far height of heaven boundless 

dark soon in the long Way aright 



134 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 143 
PROSE STUDY 

ALI BABA 

One day when Ali Baba had cut enough wood in the 
forest to load his beasts, he noticed far off a great cloud of 
dust. As it drew nearer he saw that it was made by a 
great body of horsemen whom he suspected to be robbers. 
Leaving his beasts, he climbed a large tree, which grew on 
a rock, and had branches thick enough to hide him com- 
pletely while he saw what passed beneath. The troop, 
about forty, all well mounted and well armed, came to the 
foot of the rock on which the tree stood and there dis- 
mounted. Each man unbridled his horse and tied him to 
a shrub, and hung about his neck a bag of corn. Then 
each of them took off his saddlebag, which from its weight 
seemed to Ali Baba full of gold and silver. 

One whom he took to be their captain came under the 
tree in which Ali Baba was concealed, and making his way 
through the shrubs, spoke the words, " Open Sesame." 
As soon as the captain of the robbers said this, a door 
opened in the rock, and after he had made all his troop 
enter before him, he followed them, when the door shut 
again of itself. 

The robbers stayed some time within, and Ali Baba, 
fearful of being caught in the tree, remained. At last the 
door opened again and the captain came out first, and 
stood to see all the troops pass him. Then Ali Baba 
heard him close the door by saying, '' Shut Sesame." 
Every man at once bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, 
and mounted again. When the captain saw them all 



AH Baba 135 

ready he put himself at their head, and they returned the 
way they had come. 

AH Baba watched them out of sight, then he came down. 
Wishing to see if the captain's words would have the same 
effect if he would speak them, he found the door hidden 
in the shrubs, stood before it, and said, " Open Sesame." 
Instantly the door flew wide open. 

Instead of a dark, dismal cavern, Ali Baba was surprised 
to see a large chamber, well lighted from the top, and in it 
all sorts of provisions, — rich bales of silk stuff, brocade, 
carpeting, gold and silver, ingots in great heaps, and money 
in bags. 

Ali Baba collected as much of the gold coin as he thought 
his beasts could carry. When he loaded them, he laid wood 
over them so that they could not be seen, and passing out 
of the door for the last time, said, " Shut Sesame." The 
door closed of itself and he made his way to town. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

T. Why are the words " Open Sesame " in quotation marks ? 

2. What does "Sesame" mean? Ingots? Wallet? Con- 
cealed? Use other words having the same meaning as the 
above. 

3. Would a story of such an occurrence in our country at 
the present time have any meaning? Give reason for your 
answer. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Write an imaginary description of the interior of the cave. 

2. Make a short story of twelve lines, telling what you think 
would have happened had the robbers found Ali Baba in their 
retreat. 



136 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 144 
STRUCTURE OF SENTENCES 

SIMPLE SENTENCES 

1. I shot an arrow. 

2. The threads are smooth. 

3. How does the silkworm spin.? 

4. Spin a silken robe for me. 

Tell the subject and predicate of each sentence. 

How many subjects has each sentence ? How many predicates? 

A sentence that contains only one subject and one predicate is a 
simple sentence. 

The above sentences are simple sentences. 
From "Ulysses at the King's Palace," Section 109, copy five 
simple sentences. 

COMPLEX SENTENCES 

1. She comes when the darkness falls. 

2. She loads the branches that ghtter in the sunshine. 

3. The North Wind who comes down the chimney is a 
cross old fellow. 

4. Do you know who the Snow Princess is ? 

Find a clause in each of the above sentences. 

A sentence that contains a clause is a complex sentence. 

From "Washington," Section 135, copy three complex sentences. 

COMPOUND SENTENCES 

1. " She had a rustic, woodland air, 

And she was wildly clad." 

2. " God released her from her pain, 

And then she went away." 



Written Composition 137 

3. " My brother John was forced to go, 
And he Hes by her side." 

How many separate assertions are made in each of these sen- 
tences? Are the assertions of equal importance? How are the 
assertions connected? Are they separate sentences? 

When two or more sentences are connected by a conjunction so 
as to form one sentence, the sentence is called a compound sentence. 

The above sentences are compound sentences. 

From "The Frost," Section 77, copy five compound sentences. 

From the selection, "We are Seven," Section 132, copy four 
compound sentences. 

From the selection, "A Story about Glass," Section 67, copy five 
simple sentences. 

From the selection, " Clytie," Section 61, copy four complex 
sentences. 

Write five simple sentences. 

Write five compound sentences. 

W>ite five complex sentences. 



SECTION 145 
WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Articles of food that may be found on a dinner table 

1. Name them. 

2. From what source obtained. 

(a) Domestic. 
(d) Foreign. 

3. Obtained in natural condition or manufactured. 

4. Preparations for the table. 

Note. — Make four paragraphs. (See Section 31.) 



ijS A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 146 
MEMORY SELECTION 

THE WAY TO HEAVEN 

Heaven is not gained by a single bound ; 
But we build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to its summit round by round. 

I count this thing to be grandly true, 
That a noble deed is a step toward God, 
Lifting the soul from the common clod 

To purer air and broader view. 

We rise by the things that are under our feet ; 
By what we have mastered of good and gain. 
By the pride deposed, and the passion slam, 

And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet. 

We hope, we aspire, we resolve, we trust. 
When the morning calls us to life and light ; 
But our hearts grow weary, and, ere the night, 

Our lives are trailing the sordid dust. 

We hope, we resolve, we aspire, we pray. 

And we think that we mount the air on wings 
Beyond the recall of sensual things. 

While our feet still cling to the heavy clay. 

Wings for the angels, but feet for men ! 
We may borrow the wings to find the way, 



Written Exercise 139 

We may hope and resolve and aspire and pray, 
But our feet must rise, or we fall again. 

Only in dreams is a ladder thrown 

From the weary earth to the sapphire walls ; 
But the dreams depart and the vision falls, 

And the sleeper wakes on his pillow of stone. 

Heaven is not reached by a single bound ; 
But we build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to its summit round by round. 

— J. G. Holland. 

SECTION 147 
NAME OF PERSON ADDRESSED 

1. ''Good queen, I am friendless and a stranger." 

2. '* Arise, stranger, we cannot let thee sit in the cin- 
ders." 

3. "The story is a long one, lady." 

Who is spoken to in the first sentence ? Who is addressed in 
the second sentence ? Who in the third ? What marks of punc- 
tuation separate the name of the person addressed from the rest of 
the sentence ? 

The name of a person addressed is always separated from the rest 
of the sentence by a comma, or commas. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy from your readers five sentences illustrating this rule. 

2. Write five original sentences illustrating it. What other rule 
has been given for use of the comma (Section 34). 

3. Write five sentences illustrating that rule. 



140 A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 148 
WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy from "The Way to Heaven," Section 146, three 
simple sentences, three compound sentences, and two complex 
sentences. 

2. Copy from ''Lines to a Waterfowl," Section 141, three de- 
clarative sentences, and two interrogative sentences. 

3. From "Ali Baba," Section 143, copy two imperative sen- 
tences. 

4. From "The Way to Heaven," Section 146, copy three sen- 
tences containing adverb phrases. 



SECTION 149 
STUDY OF PROSE SELECTION 

RIP VAN WINKLE 

Rip's heart died away at hearing of these sad changes in 
his home and friends, and finding himself thus alone in the 
world. Every answer puzzled him, too, by treating of such 
enormous lapses of time, and matters which he could not 
understand : War — Congress — Stony Point ! He had no 
courage to ask after any more friends, but cried out in de- 
spair, " Does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle '^ " *' Oh, 
Rip Van Winkle ! " exclaimed two or three. " Oh, to be 
sure ! That's Rip Van Winkle yonder, leaning against the 
tree." 

Rip looked and beheld a precise counterpart of himself 
as he went up to the mountain, apparently as lazy, and 
certainly as ragged. The poor fellow was now completely 



Rip Van Winkle 141 

confounded. He doubted his own identity, and whether he 
was himself or another man. In the midst of his bewilder- 
ment, the man in the cocked hat demanded who he was, 
and what was his name ! "God knows," exclaimed he, at 
his wit's ends. *' I'm not myself — I'm somebody else — 
that's me yonder — no — that's somebody else got into my 
shoes. I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on the 
mountain, and they've changed my gun, and everything is 
changed, and I'm changed, and I can't tell what's my name, 
or who I am." 

The bystanders now began to look at each other, nod, 
wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their fore- 
heads. There was a whisper also about securing the gun, 
and keeping the old fellow from mischief. At this critical 
moment a fresh, comely woman passed through the throng 
to get a peep at the gray-bearded man. She had a chubby 
child in her arms, which, frightened at his looks, began to 
cry. " Hush, Rip ! " cried she, '' hush, you little fool ! The 
old man won't hurt you." The name of the child, the air 
of the mother, the tone of her voice, all awakened a train 
of recollection in his mind. " What is your name, my good 
woman .!^ " asked he. ''Judith Gardenier." "And your 
father's name .'' " " Ah, poor man ! Rip Van Winkle 
was his name, but it's twenty years since he went away 
from home with his gun, and never has been heard of since 
— his dog came home without him; but whether he shot 
himself, or was carried away by the Indians, nobody can 
tell. I was then but a little girl." 

Rip had but one more question to ask, but he put it with 
faltering voice : " Where's your mother ? " " Oh, she too 
had died but a short time since ; she broke a blood-vessel in 
a fit of passion at a New England peddler." 

There was a drop of comfort, at least, in this intelligence. 



142 A Practical Language Book 

The honest man could contain himself no longer. He 
caught his daughter and her child in his arms. " I am 
your father!" cried he. ''Young Rip Van Winkle once 
— old Rip Van Winkle now ! Does nobody know poor 
Rip Van Winkle ? " 

All stood amazed, until an old woman, tottering out from 
among the crowd, put her hand to her brow, and peer- 
ing under it in his face for a moment, exclaimed, " Sure 
enough ! it is Rip Van Winkle — it is himself ! Welcome 
home again, old neighbor. Why, where have you been 
these long years ? " 

Rip's story was soon told, for the whole twenty years 

had been to him as one night. To make a long story 

short, the company broke up and returned to the more 

important concerns of the election. Rip's daughter took 

him home to live with her. 

— Washington Irving. 

By permission of G. P. Putnam's Sons. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Note. — This is but a part of the story. The entire tale will tell 
you of Rip's leaving home with his dog, his journey up the Catskill 
Mountain, meeting with some strange people, the long sleep, his awaken- 
ing, and return to the village to find his wife dead, his friends gone, and 
many other strange happenings. Read for yourself the entire story 
by Washington Irving. 

How long had Rip Van Winkle slept ? What great changes 
had occurred in the meantime ? What had happened at Stony 
Point ? 

Describe Rip's appearance, as you think he must have looked 
after his long sleep. 

What is meant by " He doubted his own identity " ? What 
did the people think of him ? How did he recognize his own 
daughter ? 



The Poet's Calendar * 143 

SECTION 150 
WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

Write the story of the return of Rip Van Winkle. 

SECTION 151 
POEM STUDY 

THE POET'S CALENDAR 

JANUARY 

Janus am I ; oldest of potentates ; 
Forward I look, and backward, and below 
I count, as god of avenue and gates. 
The years that through my portals come and go. 

I block the roads, and drift the fields with snow ; 
I chase the wild fowl from the frozen fen ; 
My frosts congeal the rivers in their flow. 
My fires light up the hearths and hearts of men. 

FEBRUARY 

I am lustration ; and the sea is mine ! 
I wash the sands and headlands with my tide ; 
My brow is crowned with branches from the pine ; 
Before my chariot wheel the fishes glide. 

By me all things unclean are purified ; 
By me, the souls of men washed white again ; 
E'en the unlovely tombs of those who died 
Without a dirge, I cleanse from every stain. 



144 -^ Practical Language Book 

MARCH 

I Martius am ! Once first, and now the third ! 
To lead the Year was my appointed place ; 
A mortal dispossessed me by a word, 
And set there Janus with the double face.- 

Hence I make war on all the human race; 
I shake the cities with my hurricanes ; 
I flood the rivers and their banks efface, 
And drown the farms and hamlets with my rain. 

APRIL 

I open wide the portals of the Spring 
To welcome the procession of the flowers. 
With their gay banners, and the birds that sing 
Their song of songs from their aerial towers. 

I soften with my sunshine and my showers 
The heart of earth; with thoughts of love I glide 
Into the hearts of men ; and with the Hours 
Upon the Bull with wreathed horns I ride. 

MAY 

Hark ! The seafaring wild fowl loud proclaim 
My coming, and the swarming of the bees. 
These are my heralds, and behold ! my name 
Is written in blossoms on the hawthorn trees. 

I tell the mariner when to sail the seas ; 
I waft o'er all the land from far away 
The breath and bloom of the Hesperides, 
My birthplace. I am Maia. I am May. 

JUNE 

Mine is the Month of Roses ; yes, and mine 
The Month of Marriages ! All pleasant sights 
And scents, the fragrance of the blossoming vine, 
The fohage of the valleys and the heights. 



The Poet's Calendar 145 

Mine are the longest days, the lovehest nights ; 
The mower's scythe makes music to my ear. 
I am the mother of all dear delights ; 
I am the fairest daughter of the year. 

JULY 

My emblem is the Lion, and I breathe 
The breath of Libyan deserts o'er the lands; 
My sickle as a sabre I unsheathe, 
And bent before me the pale harvest stands. 

The lakes and rivers shrink at my command. 
And there is thirst and fever in the air ; 
The sky is changed to brass, the earth to sand ; 
I am the Emperor whose name I bear. 

AUGUST 

The Emperor Octavian, called the August, 
I being his favorite, bestowed his name 
Upon me, and I hold it still in trust. 
In memory of him and of his fame. 

I am the Virgin, and my vestal flame 
Burns less intensely than the Lion's rage ; 
Sheaves are my only garlands, and I claim 
The golden Harvests as my heritage. 

SEPTEMBER 

I bear the Scales, where hang in equipoise 
The night and day ; and when unto my lips 
I put my trumpet, with its stress and noise 
Fly the white clouds like tattered sails of ships ; 

The tree-tops lash the air with sounding whips. 
Southward the clamorous seafowl wing their flight ; 
The hedges are all red with haw and hips. 
The Hunter's Moon reigns empress of the night. 



146 A Practical Language Book 

OCTOBER 

My ornaments are fruits ; my garments leaves, 
Woven like cloth of gold, and crimson dyed ; 
I do not boast the harvesting of sheaves, 
O'er orchards and o'er vineyards I preside. 

Though on the frigid Scorpion I ride, 
The dreamy air is full, and overflows 
With tender memories of the summer-tide, 
And mingled voices of the doves and crows. 

NOVEMBER 

The Centaur, Sagittarius, am I, 
Born of Ixion's and the cloud's embrace ; 
With sounding hoofs across the earth I fly, 
A steed Thessalian with a human face. 

Sharp winds the arrows are with which I chase 
The leaves, half dead already with affright ; 
I shroud myself in gloom ; and to the race 
Of mortals bring nor comfort nor delight. 

DECEMBER 

Riding upon the Goat, with snow-white hair, 
I come, the last of all. This crown of mine 
Is of the holly ; in my hand I bear 
The thyrsus, tipped with fragrant cones of pine. 

I celebrate the birth of the Divine, 
And the return of the Saturnian reign ; — 
My songs are carols sung at every shrine. 
Proclaiming, " Peace on earth, good will to men." 

— Henry W. Longfellow. 

ORAL EXERCISE 

Explain the following allusions : 

" Janus am I ; oldest of potentates." " I Martius am ! Once 
first and now the third." "My emblem is the Lion." "The 



Adjective Words, Phrases, and Clauses 147 

breath of Libyan deserts o'er the lands." " The Emperor Octa- 
vian, called the August." "Though on the frigid Scorpion I 
ride." "The Centaur, Sagittarius, am I." "Born of Ixion's 
and the cloud's embrace." "This crown of mine is of the holly." 
" I celebrate the birth of the Divine." " The return of the Satur- 
nian reign." "Peace on earth, good will to men." 

Give five references that show the changes in vegetation 
effected by the seasons. 

Which month claims to contribute most of the joy of mankind? 

Which claims to contribute least of the comfort of man ? 

Which is your favorite month? Why? 

SECTION 152 
COMPOSITION 

THE MONTH OF MAY 

In the "Poet's Calendar," Section 151, what does May claim 
for herself? 

What do you know, from your own experience, of the 
correctness of her claims? 

How does the month of May affect the interests of the 
gardeners? Of farmers? Of merchants? 

How does it affect the interests of children? 

SECTION 153 

ADJECTIVE WORDS, ADJECTIVE PHRASES, AND 
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES 

Copy sentences from the selection, " Rip Van Winkle," Section 
149, as follows : 

1. Two sentences that contain adjective words. 

2. Two sentences that contain adjective phrases. 

3. Two sentences that contain adjective clauses. 



148 A Practical Language Book 

4. Write five sentences each containing two adjectives. 

5. Write three sentences containing adjective phrases. 

6. Write three sentences containing adjective clauses. 

SECTION 154 

ADVERB WORDS, ADVERB PHRASES, AND 
ADVERB CLAUSES 

Copy the following sentences from the '^ Poet's Calendar/' 
Section 151 : 

1. Two sentences that contain adverb words. 

2. Two that contain adverb phrases. 

3. Two that contain adverb clauses. 

4. Write five sentences containing adverb phrases. 

5. Write five sentences containing adverb clauses. 

SECTION 155 
LETTERS 

1. Write a letter to a friend, asking the loan of a book that you 
especially desire to read. Tell why you want to read it, what 
other books you have recently read, and how you liked them. 
State when you will return the book. 

2. Write a letter to the pubUshers of this book asking for a 
catalogue of their publications. 

SECTION 156 
INDUSTRY STUDY 

COTTON 

1. Cotton-producing section in the United States. 

2. Leading states in cotton raising. 

3. Other cotton-producing countries. 

4. Describe planting and cultivation of cotton. 

5. Cotton picking, ginning, and baling. 



Franklin's Boyhood 149 

SECTION 157 

COMPOSITION 

Write a composition using material developed in the preceding 
lesson. 

SECTION 158 
PROSE STUDY 

FRANKLIN'S BOYHOOD 

I was born in Boston, Mass., January 17, 1706. I was 
put to the grammar school at eight years of age. I soon 
learned to write a good hand ; but failed entirely in 
arithmetic. 

At ten years old I was taken to help my father in his 
business, which was that of a tallow chandler and soap- 
boiler. Accordingly, I was employed in cutting wicks for 
the candles, fiUing the molds for candles, attending the 
shop, and going errands. I disliked the trade, and had 
a strong inclination to go to sea ; but my father declared 
against it. 

From my infancy I was passionately fond of reading, 
and all the money that came into my hands was laid out in 
purchasing books. This bookish inclination at length de- 
termined my father to make me a printer, though he had 
already one son, James, of that profession. 

In 1 71 7 my brother James returned from England with 
a press and letters, to set up his business in Boston. 
I liked it much better than that of my father, but still had 
a hankering for the sea. In a little time I made great 
progress in the business, and became a useful hand to my 
brother. 



150 A Practical Language Book 

I now had access to better books. An acquaintance 
with the apprentices of booksellers enabled me sometimes 
to borrow a small one, which I was careful to return soon, 
and clean. Often I sat up in my chamber reading the 
greatest part of the night, when the book was borrowed in 
the evening and had to be returned in the morning, lest it 

should be found missing. —Abridged from "Autobiography." 

Give in your own words an account of Franklin's boyhood. 

SECTION 159 

One of Benjamin Franklin's noted publications was " Poor 
Richard's Almanac." 

The following sayings are quoted from this publication. 

Read them and interpret their meaning in your own words. 

Commit to memory the five which you think mean the most to 
you. 

POOR RICHARD'S SAYINGS 

If pride leads the van, beggary brings up the rear. 

He that can travel well afoot keeps a good horse. 

Some men grow mad by studying much to know, but 
who grows mad by studying good to grow } 

Whate'er's begun in anger ends in shame. 

He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals. 

Against diseases, know the strongest defensive virtue, 
abstinence. 

Sloth maketh all things difficult ; industry, all easy. 

If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you 
like, serve yourself. 

A mob is a monster ; with heads enough, but no brains. 

There is nothing humbler than ambition when it is about 
to climb. 



Relative Pronouns 151 

The discontented man finds no easy chair. 

When prosperity was well mounted, she let go the 
bridle, and soon came tumbling out of the saddle. 

A little neglect may breed great mischief. For want of 
a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was 
lost, and for want of a horse the rider was lost. 

A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun 
shines. 

Plow deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have 
corn to sell and to keep. 

Old boys have playthings as well as young ones ; the 
difference is only in price. 

If you would keep a secret from an enemy, tell it not to 
a friend. 

One to-day is worth two to-morrows. 

It is foohsh to lay out money in a purchase of re- 
pentance. 

SECTION 160 

RELATIVE PRONOUNS 

1. Washington, who sought nothing for himself, is 
revered by his countrymen. 

2. His eyes, which were blue and handsome, were not 
quick or nervous. 

3. Some who have written about him have said he was 
not a great soldier. 

4. From raw material, he created an army that was 
victorious over England. 

1. Name the independent clauses in each of these sentences. 
Name the dependent clauses. 

2. What words introduce the dependent clauses? 

3. These words are a pecuhar kind of connectives. They 



152 A Practical Language Book 

refer to a noun or a pronoun in the independent clause to which 
they join dependent clauses. They are relative pronouns. 

A word that refers or relates to a noun or pronoun and joins to it 
a dependent clause is a relative pronoun ; who, which, that, in the 
above sentences, are relative pronouns. 

4. The noun or pronoun to which the relative pronoun refers 
is its antecedent. 

5. Point out the antecedents of the relative pronouns in the 
above sentences. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. From the selection, "Questions," Section 6, copy three sen- 
tences containing relative pronouns. Draw one line under each 
relative pronoun, and two lines under its antecedent. 

2. Write six sentences containing relative pronouns, and indi- 
cate the relative pronouns and their antecedents. 

SECTION 161 
COMMAS 

1. Columbus, the discoverer of America, was born in 
Italy. 

2. Isabella, the queen of Spain, was his friend. 

What is the name of the man spoken of in the first sentence ? 
Who was he? Who is spoken of in the second sentence? Who 
was she? What expressions in these sentences are explanatory? 
By what marks of punctuation are these expressions separated 
from the rest of the sentence ? 

An explanatory expression should be separated from the rest of 
the sentence by commas. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

From the selection, "Tragedies of the Nests," Section 114, 
copy the sentences that contain explanatory expressions. 



Daffodils 153 



SECTION 162 

DICTATION EXERCISE 

A STORY 

" Hark, I hear some one coming," said Martha, bending 
forward and straining her ears to listen. 

" Perhaps it is the cows," said Henry. 

*' No," replied his sister, in a cautious whisper, "it is a 
man's step." 

Martha Winthrop, a girl of fourteen, and her brother 
Henry, who was two years younger, had been sent to look 
for the cows, and not finding them at their usual place, 
had gone far into the wood. 

SECTION 163 
POEM STUDY 

DAFFODILS 

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host of golden daffodils, 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees. 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 

And twinkle on the Milky Way, 
They stretched in never ending line 

Along the margin of a bay : 
Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 



1 54 A Practical Language Book 

The waves beside them danced ; but they 
Outdid the sparkHng waves in glee ; 

A poet could not be but gay, 
In such a jocund company. 

I gazed, — and gazed, — but little thought 

What wealth the show to me had brought ; 

For oft, when on my couch I lie 

In vacant or in pensive mood, 
They flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude ; 
And then my heart with pleasure fills. 
And dances with the daffodils. 

— William Wordsworth. 



SECTION 164 

REVIEW OF PARTS OF SPEECH 

Copy from the selection, '' Daffodils " : 

fifteen nouns one conjunction 

four pronouns two relative pronouns 

six verbs two adjective phrases 

six adjectives two adverb phrases 

one adverb one adjective clause 

eight prepositions two adverb clauses 

SECTION 165 
COMPOSITION 

MY FAVORITE FLOWER 

What is your favorite flower? 

Tell where it grows and what time of the year it blossoms. 

Describe its roots, leaves, blossom, and seed. 

Why is this flower your favorite ? 



Transposed Expressions — Punctuation 155 

SECTION 166 
INDIRECT QUOTATIONS 

1. "Good queen," said Ulysses, "I am friendless and a 
stranger." 

2. Ulysses told the queen that he was friendless and 
a stranger. 

Read the exact words of Ulysses in the first sentence. What 
kind of quotation is it ? 

In the second sentence the exact words of Ulysses are not 
repeated, but the substance of hi^ remark is given. 

When the substance of a quotation is given without using the 
exact words, it is called an indirect quotation. 

The second sentence contains an indirect quotation. 

WRITTEN EXERCISE 

1. Copy five quotations from the selection, " We are Seven," 
Section 132. Change them to indirect quotations. 

2. Write five original sentences containing direct quotations. 

3. Write five original sentences containing indirect quotations. 

SECTION 167 
TRANSPOSED EXPRESSIONS — PUNCTUATION 

1. And to the presence in the room, he said, "What 
writest thou ? " 

2. When the angel had written, he vanished. 

What is the subject of the first sentence? What is the predi- 
cate ? What does the phrase " to the presence in the room " 
modify? Is the phrase placed in its natural order? What marks 
of punctuation separate it from the rest of the sentence? 

What is the subject of the second sentence? What is the 



156 A Practical Language Book 

predicate? What does the clause "when the angel had written," 
modify? Is the clause placed in its natural order? What mark 
of punctuation separates it from the rest of the sentence ? 

A clause or a phrase out of its natural order is transposed. 

Transposed phrases or clauses are separated from the rest of 
the sentence by commas. 

1. Write five sentences containing phrases in their natural 
order. Rewrite them, transposing the phrases. 

2. Write five sentences containing clauses in their natural 
order. Rewrite them, transposing the clauses. 

SECTION 168 
POEM STUDY 

THE PLANTING OF THE APPLE TREE 

Come, let us plant the apple tree ! 
Cleave the tough greensward with the spade ; 
Wide let its hollow bed be made ; 
There gently lay the roots, and there 
Sift the dark mold with kindly care, 

And press it o'er them tenderly. 
As round the sleeping infant's feet 
We softly fold the cradle sheet ; 

So plant we the apple tree. 

What plant we in this apple tree? 
Buds, which the breath of summer days 
Shall lengthen into leafy sprays ; 
Boughs, where the thrush with crimson breast 
Shall haunt and sing and hide her nest. 

We plant upon the sunny lea 
A shadow for the noontide hour, 
A shelter from the summer shower. 

When we plant the apple tree. 



The Planting of the Apple Tree 157 

What plant we in this apple tree ? 
Sweets for a hundred flowery springs 
To load the May wind's restless wings, 
When from the orchard row he pours 
Its fragrance through our open door ; 

A world of blossoms for the bee. 
Flowers for the sick girl's silent room, 
For glad infant sprigs of bloom 

We plant with the apple tree. 

What plant we in this apple tree? 
Fruits that shall swell in sunny June, 
And redden in the August noon, 
And drop when gentle airs come by 
That fan the blue September sky, 

While children, wild with noisy glee, 
Shall scent their fragrance as they pass 
And search for them in the tufted grass 

x\t the foot of the apple tree. 

And when above this apple tree 
The winter stars are quivering bright, 
And winds go howHng through the night. 
Girls whose young eyes o'erflow with mirth 
Shall peel its fruit by cottage hearth ; 

And guests in prouder homes shall see. 
Heaped with the orange and the grape. 
As fair as they in tint and shape, 

The fruit of the apple tree. 

The fruitage of this apple tree 
Winds and our flag of stripe and star 
Shall bear to coasts that lie afar. 
Where men shall wonder at the view 
And ask in what fair groves they grew : 



158 A Practical Language Book 

And they who roam beyond the sea 
Shall think of childhood's careless day 
And long hours passed in summer play 

In the shade of the apple tree. 



But time shall waste this apple tree. 
Oh ! when its aged branches throw 
Their shadows on the world below, 
Shall fraud and force and iron will 
Oppress the weak and helpless still? 

What shall the task of mercy be 
Amid the toils, the strifes, the tears 
Of those who hve when length of years 

Is wasting this apple tree? 



William Cullen Bryant. 

By permission of D. Appleton & Co. 



WRITTEN COMPOSITION 

' I. Describe the process of planting the apple tree. 

2. Describe the tree as the author imagines it will be. 

3. The fruit and its uses. 

4. Explain what is meant by " Shall peel its fruit by cottage 
hearth," and by " Winds and our flag of stripe and star Shall bear 
to coasts that lie afar." 

5. Give the thought suggested in the last stanza. 



SECTION 169 

SUMMARY OF RULES IN PART THREE 

I. A group of words having neither subject nor predi- 
cate, and used as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun, is a 
phrase. 



A Day in June 159 

2. A phrase that is used as an adjective is an adjective 
phrase. 

3. A phrase that is used as an adverb is an adverb 
phrase. 

4. A phrase used as a noun is a noun phrase. 

5. A group of words having a subject and predicate, and 
used in a sentence Hke a single word, is called a clause. 

6. A clause that is used as an adjective is an adjective 
clause. 

7. A clause that is used as an adverb is an adverb 
clause. 

8. A sentence that contains only one subject and one 
predicate is a simple sentence. 

9. When two or more sentences are connected by a 
conjunction so as to form one sentence, the sentence is 
called a compound sentence. 

10. A sentence that contains a clause is a complex 
sentence. 

11. The name of a person addressed is always separated 
from the rest of the sentence by a comma. 

12. Words of a series are separated by commas. 

13. An explanatory expression should be separated from 
the rest of the sentence by commas. 

14. Transposed phrases or clauses are separated from 
the rest of the sentence by commas. 

15. The two parts of a compound sentence, when short 
and closely connected, are separated by commas. 

16. When the two parts of a sentence are not closely 
connected, or are themselves subdivided by commas, they 
are separated by semicolons. 



i6o A Practical Language Book 



SECTION 170 
POEM STUDY 

A DAY IN JUNE 

And what is so rare as a day in June? 

Then, if ever, come perfect days ; 
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune, 

And over it softly her warm ear lays : 
Whether we look, or whether we listen, 
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten ; 
Every clod feels a stir of might, — 

An instinct within it that reaches and towers, 
And groping bhndly above it for light. 

Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers ; 
The flush of life may well be seen 

Thrilling back over hills and valleys ; 
The cowslip startles in meadows green, 

The buttercup catches the sun in its chahce, 
And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean 

To be some happy creature's palace ; 
The little bird sits at his door in the sun, 

A-tilt like a blossom among the leaves. 
And lets his illumined being o'errun 

With the deluge of summer it receives ; 
His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings, 
And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings ; 
He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest, — 
In the nice ear of nature which song is the best ? 

Now is the high tide of the year, 

And whatever of life hath ebbed away 

Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer. 
Into every bare inlet and creek and bay ; 



A Day in June i6i 

Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it, 
We are happy now because God wills it ; 
No matter how barren the past may have been, 
'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green ; 
We sit in the warm shade and feel right well 
How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell ; 
We may shut our eyes, but we cannot help knowing 
That skies are clear and grass is growing ; 
The breeze comes whispering in our ear. 
That dandelions are blossoming near, 

That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing. 
That the river is bluer than the sky. 
That the robin is plastering his house hard by ; 
And if the breeze kept the good news back, 
For other couriers we should not lack ; 

We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing, — 
And, hark ! how clear bold chanticleer. 
Warmed with the new wine of the year. 

Tells 8,11 in his lusty crowing. 
Joy comes, grief. goes, we know not how; 
Everything is happy now. 

Everything ife upward striving ; 
'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true 
As for grass to be green or skies to be blue, — 

'Tis the natural way of living. 

— James Russell Lowell. 



:PB18 1903 



